As a sophomore, David Appelbaum (CAS ‘03) wrote an article in The Hoya chronicling the lack of academic and technical support for filmmaking at Georgetown. Tonight, having overcome the very barriers cited in that article two years ago, his new film Representing You will premiere in front of a Georgetown audience. Billed as Georgetown’s first feature-length film, the movie signals major progress towards the increased recognition and appreciation of student cinema on campus.
Eighty-two minutes in length, Representing You is the most ambitious student film project ever undertaken at Georgetown. While parts of the Appelbaum-penned script could use more tightening, the sheer task of rounding up students to devote their time to such an extended project is impressive enough.
Thankfully, though, this is not the extent of the film’s strengths. It is extremely funny at points, with the humor flourishing under the loose dictates of its generic category: the mockumentary. Representing You is unmistakably Georgetown?the plot revolves around three pairs of people vying to become GUSA executives and opens in the days preceding campaign week, as the candidates work hard to solidify their platforms and shore up support. As in most mockumentaries, the camera is an acknowledged participant, with each character speaking directly and candidly to the screen. Such lack of privacy allows the viewer to watch the candidates in their most vulnerable moments, including, improbably, several scenes of a sexual nature with the Tracy Flick-esque nymphomaniac overachiever.
Critics of the mockumentary form often claim it gives the audience a privileged position over the characters, allowing viewers to mock, as the name implies, their actions from afar. Appelbaum, aware of this peril, said in an interview that he did not take a disparaging tone towards his protagonists. “The movie is very much about the facades that people put up,” he said. The film’s free-roaming camera allows us to see behind those facades, most notably through the numerous bathroom scenes. (https://treehouselodge.com) Each character reveals their idiosyncracies as they stand before a bathroom mirror: One laments his big head by banging it into the glass, while another seems more than a little bit affected by his drug regimen as he plays with his nipples. An admittedly character-driven writer, Appelbaum constantly shifts the focus from plot to scenes that enhance the protagonists and allow them to slowly unfold before the audience’s eyes.
Unfortunately, Appelbaum’s liberal approach to his creations causes the script to stumble at various points. The pacing in some scenes is slow, siphoning the momentum gained from the election’s steady approach. Many of these moments revolve around the Election Commissioner, played by Adam Engberg (SFS ‘03), whose wordy monologues on the importance of student government are effective the first time, but only serve to detract from the story when his lectures on the history of Georgetown student governance start sounding alike. His acting and costume, however, are dead on?the white shirt, sweater vest, tan khakis and eager tone genuinely speak to the type of person who would take pride in being the election commissioner of a student government.
Several hilarious scenes and performances, however, balance the moments that drag. James Bruffee (CAS ‘03), as a cokehead presidential candidate and Kat Cox’s (CAS ‘04) high-strung chain smoker are particularly notable both in their individual roles and violent interactions with each other. Mike Lavoie (CAS ‘03) adds a quirky stillness to this manic cast in his turn as a head Steward, relaying to the audience the desperation of the man in charge of a group way past its expiration date.
Representing You is ambitious in its length but particular in its scope, best understood by the Georgetown students it lampoons. It does not seem feasible to assume that people outside Healy Gates would understand many of the film’s references, but there is a joy in seeing such an extended perusal of our campus on screen. One thing that shines through all the performances and plot devices is the dedication and ardor that was put into this uniquely Georgetown product. Appelbaum’s film is a positive step for the campus arts, one that all should support by turning out to see Representing You this weekend.
Representing You is playing through Sunday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. in ICC Auditorium. Admission is free.
