Madeline (magnetic newcomer Helena Howard) is a fourteen-year-old girl with an undeniable psychological instability. Through improvisation and acting classes at a small theater company, Madeline discovers a unique way to express her inner world and explore her relationship with the others. Madeline’s Madeline is, without a doubt, one of the most unique, energetic and risky films of this edition of Americana. Roger and Ebert perfectly resumed the movie on their website, describing Madeline’s Madeline as “beautifully strange”.
 
Filmmaker Josephine Decker (Thou Wast Mild and Lovely) has surprised the audience at many film festivals such as Sundance and Gijón with her powerful film that delves into the unstable, unpredictable and dangerous mind of her main character. With a frantic and chaotic montage, the director tries to recreate for its viewers the experience of contemplating the world through the eyes of a person with mental problems.
 
Nominated for two awards at the Independent Spirit Awards, Madeline’s Madeline presents the daily life of a teenager who finds in improvisation, the ideal way to express herself as she is, without any restriction. The viewers are also introduced to the two women who “help” Miranda on her journey to self-discovery: her biological mother (the talented Miranda July), an overly-protective woman with is anxious for her daughter, and her acting teacher, Evangeline (Weirdos’ Molly Parker). The latter is fascinated by Madeline’s personality, yet does not see the demons that inhabit her new student’s mind.
 
Madeline’s Madeline is a challenging experience. At times, a horror flick, at others, an exacerbated drama narrated with strength and intensity, the film asks for an active spectator who dares to venture on a dark and chaotic journey to a twisted mind that seeks freedom.
 
2018: Gijón Film Festival
2018: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography and Female Lead (Howard)
2018: Gotham Awards: Nominated for Best Feature and Breakthrough Actor(Howard)