That feeling of being a teenage music fan taps into an obsession that is both incredibly singular, yet universally known. Specific music and, in many cases, the artist behind such can imprint so intimately on one’s psyche, and it’s that worship that forms the core of Emma Higgins‘ debut feature, Sweetness.
Granted, Higgins laces this mentality with a more dangerous, murderous edge, but it still manages a sense of understanding when it comes to the actions of its lead, sixteen-year-old Rylee (Kate Hallett), who finds a sense of comfort in the music of pop/rock number Floorplan, and, specifically, their lead singer, Payton Adler (Herman Tømmeraas). She feels lonely and frustrated with the world around her, and her stepmother (Amanda Brugel) isn’t helping matters with her overly friendly nature in her best attempt to connect.
The one form of excitement Rylee has in her life currently is that she’s about to see Floorplan live, but when she is ditched by her bestie, Sydney (Aya Furukawa), after the show, her reason for being takes a considerable shift when she’s almost run over by Payton himself, and subsequently invited into his car for a ride home; the agitated Payton clearly hoping that appeasing her fangirl nature will save any type of legal issues that come with the near-accident.
Surprising no one viewing, Payton is revealed as a drug addict (hence said agitation), a desperate one at that, and when he nearly overdoses, Rylee takes it upon herself to help him detox. So, like any obsessed 16-year-old would, she holds him prisoner in her home so he can get everything flushed out of his system. It’s tough love to her. To him, it’s psychotic. And for the audience, it’s a warped treat to see just how far Rylee is willing to go to both help Payton and keep her secret safe.
As angst-ridden and emotional Rylee is, the opening scene where we see her watching a “how to” video on seduction suggests there’s a darker factor to consider within her being. When she “practices” those techniques on the Payton posters adorning her wall, we are all too aware of how deep her infatuation runs, and so when he shows her a modicum of kindness during their car ride, she understandably interprets it as more. Her acting as she does makes complete sense in her own mind, and so, as sinister as she becomes the more the film progresses, Hallett’s performance and Higgins’ direction feel rooted in a certain truth, assisting the film’s personality as a whole.
Of course, Higgins is also aware of the genres she’s playing in, and as much as it earns a certain honest emotionality regarding Rylee, it flirts with just enough of a camp sensibility, so that Rylee’s violent actions – horrific as they are – feel justified within the confinement of Sweetness‘s horror genre inclinations. As well, with that sensibility, Rylee is a character that won’t endear herself to all viewers – and that’s even before she starts flexing her murderous tendencies – but Higgins is able to get away with such, because Rylee’s teen age is able to mask sound judgement and justify extreme outbursts. It’s a fine line, and Sweetness mostly toes it with success.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Sweetness is screening as part of this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, running between March 6th and 15th, 2025. For more information on the festival, head to the official site here.
