What wouldn’t you give to be able to talk to a loved one again? From my limited exposure to the marketing campaigns of A24’s new Talk to Me, my understanding of the story was one of loss, pain, and longing. The story displayed was not the story sold.
That doesn’t make it bad. Before we continue, I’d warn you to watch the film blind and bring your opinions to meet mine, rather than the other way around. Spoilers follow.
You’ve been warned.
Talk to Me follows a highschooler, Mia, struggling to find herself again two years after the apparent suicide of her mother. She spends much of her time with the family of her best friend, Jade. After seeing some videos of supposed possession occurring at local Haley’s parties, Mia begs her friend to go with her to one, arguing it’s a favor or present for her mother’s deathiversary. She’s curious if the videos are real or faked. In them, a willing patron is tied to a chair and told to hold hands with a plastered hand, said to contain a real human hand inside allowing those that engage it to talk to the dead and even be possessed.
This phenomena is where a lot of reviews I’ve seen or watched mention the ‘talented’ use of social media. Haley invites these possessions using a hand that their friend got from another child in the area after some terrifying events. All the videos that ‘surface’ are at Haley’s parties in the area. Even without the use of social media, the idea that kids can take videos and share it amongst small groups allowing it to locally spread like wildfire, is not unique to TikTok or the like. I would argue you’d critique that on something more attune to 47 Hours, a movie in which two girls play a game they’d heard about online and must continue playing it or die. Or any Ouija movie that could be fueled by mass sharing of an event that could be replicated anywhere with ease.
The localized nature of the cause of the supernatural occurrences entirely kills the notion that social media was involved on any level, and I find it a silly critique.
Digressions aside, Jade agrees on the condition her boyfriend can come, and the two are also ultimately blackmailed into bringing Jade’s younger brother, Riley. The four go to the party. Mia volunteers to use the hand and a clear allegory for drug abuse transpires as we see Mia thinking about the experience constantly and even describing it as ‘amazing’. This coupled with the impassioned tone she uses, and the brief struggle and choking that accompanies each possession makes it all but explicit.
The plot, however, makes a sharp turn early in the movie when at a small ‘party’ so that they can use the hand again, Mia gives Riley her blessing to use it against Jade’s wishes, and the result ends in Riley’s near death.
We follow Mia struggling with her guilt and need to help, as well as her seeming descent into madness as she’s haunted by the visage of her mother and other ghost’s she’s encountered even when not under the hand’s influence.
The use of an unreliable narrator and the engaging camera angles helping us switch perspectives adds a layer of interest to this movie I definitely appreciate. While I personally found the ‘twist’ ending a bit predictable, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting and effective. It does enough to wrap up our story while also doing absolutely nothing at all. It enraged me and I loved it.
Talk to Me by A24 is currently in theatres as of July 28th 2023 and does not have a Blu-ray release date at this time.
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