Film review of Me. I am. So. Happy .: Do you need a trigger alert?

The movie The luckiest girl in the world (or in German I. Bin. So. Happy.) Is making a sensation on the Internet right now. Not because Netflix grabbed the toilet again with the German translation, or because the title tops the Netflix charts, but because it was missing an activation notice. And somehow not quite wrong, because the film not only addresses blatant topics, but also explicitly shows them. Rape, murder and rampage in a school: The subscription giant probably knows by now that Netflix has to provide a tagging system for explicit content if it doesn’t want to continue being pilloried on Twitter.

But the film shouldn’t be dismissed as a mere Internet protest. According to Moviepilot, they are. I’m. So happy. almost as successful as David Fincher’s acclaimed Gone Girl title. The two productions are comparable only at a first superficial glance. It is about women and violence. However, you shouldn’t ignore the fact that they are ultimately two different genres and the lead actresses are structured completely differently.

Amy in Gone Girl introduces herself as a beautiful wife who turns out to be a psychopath and more than once fools the viewer with her extreme actions and cunning. Tifany, also called Any in the film, by Me. I am. So happy. it is the exact opposite. Due to violent incidents in her childhood, she has become a manipulative person and appears psychotic in the first moments of the film. Eventually, however, it turns out that she really just wants to find out the lies about her persona of her and she has to stand up to society, but also to those closest to her.

Any has built the seemingly perfect life through manipulation.

What: Netflix

Complex rather than one-dimensional

The ruthless Any turns out to be an ambivalent person who certainly has real feelings inside, but he suppresses them and sets them aside for justice. She is layered from the start and goes through a clear development that Mina Kunis convincingly embodies.

While Any initially sticks to his ruthless revenge and initially shows no scruples, over time it turns out that he is not unrepentant in alienating the people he would like to open up to. And while she is carrying a terrible trauma, she Any is not shattered nor does she lose sight of her goal of fixing her past.

The portrayal of the perpetrators and victims is successful, due to the sensitive subject. This is not black and white, but gradient. Nobody is fundamentally bad, but they’re not good either. Almost every human being has a personal agenda that he is pursuing and that comes within me. I’m. So happy. out of here. One might think – and established film critics agree on this – that the film wants too much in some places. Social criticism is included in the film’s final minutes, which at first glance seems out of place, as the film is about an individual’s fate and how he is approached in a smaller circle.

Did you want too much?

While this twist may seem a bit clunky, in the end it’s the fence post that represents Any’s overall subject. All of her actions stem from society not taking her seriously, and as a result she must change her starting point as she struggles with the decision to pursue her dream or escape the horrors of her past.

In its social critique, the plot opposes a world in which victims of sexual assault must fear that they will not be believed or that they will suffer an executioner-victim reversal. But it also focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter and, in this context, on the manipulation that victims of sexual assault suffer from their immediate surroundings. Either out of shame or helplessness, the victims cannot speak or the truth is at least distorted until it fits their ideal worldview. In order not to expose those close to him, silence follows.

In addition to social criticism, I. Sono. So happy. its focus on interpersonal dramas that also play a role in victims of sexual abuse.

What: Netflix

Yes, the topic deserves an activation notice. But it is precisely those affected who benefit from the representation in I. Sono. So happy. Because it shows: It’s okay to stand up and pillory someone from your environment when they’ve earned their spot. Personal ties can be severed if one’s well-being falls by the wayside because of them. Physically, but also mentally.

Not for all

That I. I’m. So happy. in the end he tries too much and cannot be completely dismissed. In addition to all the horrors and conflicts that trigger violent reactions in Any, the film also takes a critical look at the exploitation of those themes. Director Aaron tries to bring Any in for a documentary about her past events, with no real regard for her trauma, which ends up worsening the situation.

Ironic that I. I’m. So happy. Precisely for this reason he receives criticism and, according to some critics, appears too exploitative. The film offends and only has a very specific target group that can really relate to what is shown. Either way, you don’t have to expect popcorn cinema, but you can expect a successful depiction of trauma without over-the-top drama.