Just minutes into Pelin Esmer’s first feature in seven years, the troubled protagonist Aliye (Merve Asya Özgür) drops the titular line. It is an indicator of the film’s unabashed and deceitful sense of positivity. Speaking directly into the camera and breaking the fourth wall, the young woman describes herself as a tough crime investigator. According to her, it’s a demanding job, but that’s a fair price for living the life of her dreams. Indeed she does, only in a different way than her words suggest. In reality, the 25-year-old is a housekeeper in a hotel. She has the disturbing habit of trying guest clothes on, and secretly slipping into their perceived identities. It’s a profoundly menacing opening scene, revealing the deceptively demure protagonist to have serious mental issues: a perfect setup for a psychological thriller.
The story takes place in the Turkish coastal town of Söke, during a film festival. Celebrated director Levent (Timuçin Esen), recovering from a recent divorce and living again with his mother, attends the event. He has reluctantly agreed to work on a new feature film. He retreats into himself rather than engage with a world that revolves around him. Aliye becomes pathologically obsessed with him, picking up interview snippets and reviews in order to piece together a full picture of the filmmaker. She reaches out to him through anonymous voice messages.
Her idolisation fits in well with the man’s ego. Intrigued by her youthful passion and devotion, Levent attentively listens to Aliye. She begins to craft stories in order to please him, and also in order to be a little like him. He becomes fascinated with the fan fiction. The two personalities are equally twisted, and their relationship is deeply toxic. Aliye is a sociopathic super fan who cheats and lies her way into his private life. He is an artist bolstered by fame, fortune, and status, who suddenly meets his real-life manic pixie dream girl. Their encounter is certainly interesting, brimming with destructive dynamics.
Both characters profit from their relationship on multiple levels. Levent finds renewed inspiration and lust for life. Aliye gains confidence and purpose. Their newly formed bond evolves into a creative collaboration that allows both to transform their lives. Set within Söke’s gently dilapidated streets, and the retro interiors of a provincial hotel, the scenery has a fleeting charm. Cinematographer Barbu Bălășoiu focuses on fleeting gestures and unspoken emotions in order to provide the story with an extra emotional layer.
The problem with And The Rest Will Follow it does not explore its main themes in depth: celebrity catfishing, pathological fandom, gender power imbalance, female vulnerability, self-deception and codependency. Instead, a cheesy soundtrack, dreamy camerawork, and a playful dialogues make the noxious proceedings look fun, almost inviting. Real-life writer and director Pelin Esmer romanticises the topic of pathological lying, treating it like comedy. The danger and potential of imaginary alternative identities, as well as the porous border between reality and fiction remain unexplored. Emotional exploitation becomes normalised.
The two lead performances are very strong. Özgür’s gentle, treacherously innocent performance adds emotional layers to her inconclusive character. Esen plays the jaded artist with confidence. Sadly, the characters lack depth and coherence, and the two thespians are denied the opportunity to fully explore their personages.
And The Rest Will Follow showed at Tiff Romania.
