Not Okay – Film Review

Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch) is an aimless aspiring writer with no friends, no romantic prospects and — worst of all — no followers, and fakes an Instagram-friendly trip to Paris in the hopes of boosting her social media clout. When a terrifying incident strikes the City of Lights, Danni unwittingly falls into a lie bigger than she ever imagined. She “returns” a hero, even striking up an unlikely friendship with Rowan (Mia Isaac), a school-shooting survivor dedicated to societal change, and scooping up the man of her dreams, Colin (Dylan O’Brien). As an influencer and advocate, Danni finally has the life and audience she always wanted. But it’s only a matter of time before the façade cracks, and she learns the hard way that the Internet loves a takedown.

Content Warning: This film contains flashing lights, themes of trauma, and an unlikable female protagonist. Viewer discretion advised.

That’s the disclaimer that appears on screen immediately before the opening scene of Quinn Shephard‘s Not Okay, an extremely uncomfortable satirical black comedy that shows just how far some people would be willing to go just to get a little bit of fame on the internet, and the horrible price it comes with.

It’s something that a ton of people have thought about – what if I was famous? How can I be famous? And, if I was, what would I do with that fame? These are all questions that race through the mind of our protagonist, Danni Sanders. She’s wanted to be a celebrity for as long as she can remember, but, truth be told, she’s just an average girl with a normal life.

That is, however, until she fakes being a survivor of a horrific bombing incident and uses that to her advantage. So, yeah, the film’s opening card stating that Danni is unlikable is a gargantuan understatement. Zoey Deutch delivers an excellent performance in the role, and she really does a great job at making you dislike her character more and more each scene.

It’s a switch from the roles she usually plays (fun, charming characters), and it was certainly a surprise to see her be able to pull it off so easily. Mia Isaac, however, may be the true scene stealer here as an anti-gun activist named Rowan Aldren, who is a school shooting survivor.

Dylan O’Brien’s character was one I definitely could’ve done without. He’s a strange stoner character that comes across as a bumbling idiot in literally every single scene he was in and he served zero purpose to the overall story. I kept waiting for his character to become relevant, but it never happened. He’s supposed to be comedic relief, but the problem is that his character is just not funny.

But what I will say about the other characters in this film is that I love how they all populate this world and how most of them fit into the story. This is without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable movie-watching experiences of my life. Watching this young girl fake her way to the top in such a horrible way was deeply disturbing and maddening.

And it’s good that writer/director Quinn Shephard fully recognizes this, and uses it to create some truly powerful messages in it that she really nails, especially towards the end. It’s definitely not going to be a movie that everybody enjoys, but it is one that you should at least check out, if only to see how you feel about it. It’s a film that’s sure to spark conversations.

Not Okay is a deeply uncomfortable and disturbing moviegoing experience with a sharp script and bold direction from Quinn Thompson.