Isabelle Fuhrman shines as a novice rower obsessed with success. Lauren Hadaway’s feature debut is a masterful and disturbing film—one that drags you under the surface and leaves you gasping for breath.
★★★★✰
The Novice opens with a black screen. An object slowly begins to appear from the centre, and as your eyes adjust, you realise that it is a rowing boat, in the middle of a dark sea. This bird’s eye view shot, whilst introducing the film’s subject matter, also evokes in its expansiveness an isolation that seeps through newcomer Lauren Hadaway’s work; a dark exploration of the human psyche, through the lens of competitive sport.
The film follows Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman), a college freshman who is consumed by academic pressure and a drive to overcome challenges. Alex is a physics major despite it being her worst subject, and she takes her class tests numerous times to ensure she does as well as she possibly can. Influenced by this mindset, she joins her college’s novice rowing team and, despite being a complete beginner, aims to make the elite varsity team, stopping at nothing to make sure she does.
What begins as an inspiring story of hard work and commitment quickly spirals into a chilling nightmare fuelled by obsession and anxiety. The gruelling training routines are what Alex thrives on, and even the tough coaches must tell her to stop working so hard, as she continually strives for self-improvement. Alex’s desire to be the ‘best’ perhaps feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy, as she begins to improve and rises to the top of her novice group, but as both her mental and physical health deteriorate, the film asks: perfection comes at what cost?
While its premise sounds somewhat like a coming-of-age story, in its execution The Novice plays out like a horror movie. Harsh orchestral music (composed by Alex Weston) scores the narrative and combines with the sultry tones of Brenda Lee to create a foreboding sound that often takes on the role of dialogue. Layered voices, such as the technique-cum-mantra “legs, body, arms, arms, body, legs”, compete to be heard and complete the packed soundscape of Alex’s internal monologue. Sound in general is key to the film’s disconcerting tone, from the furious scribbles in a notebook full of rowing tips to the splashes of the oars pushing through the water—unsurprising, as Hadaway herself has an extensive background in post-production sound.
Fuhrman, perhaps best known as the infamous child star of Orphan or as one of the Tributes from The Hunger Games, takes the lead in this feature, and delivers a captivating performance as the centre of this intense character study. Throughout the film there are gritty close-ups of her face, often with hair plastered across her forehead from sweat, which is effective to Hadaway’s storytelling as Fuhrman’s eyes convey emotion so effortlessly. She skilfully embodies a traumatic descent into mania, particularly during the harrowing final third, and it’s a lead performance that I feel deserved more critical recognition.
There is arguably little to say about the rest of the film’s cast, aside from strong performances from Alex Forsyth as Dall’s teammate Jamie, and Dilone as teaching assistant Dani, who becomes romantically involved with Alex. These two relationships perhaps felt a little thinly drawn at times, therefore it was difficult to become particularly invested in their development. Yet this potentially speaks to The Novice’s striking interiority, so focused on Alex’s perspective that external forces often fade into the background. I did, however, enjoy the unspoken queerness of the protagonist; it is never explicitly acknowledged yet is presented in a refreshingly candid way.
The Novice’s greatest achievement is the tense atmosphere it creates from beginning to end, even though the only true conflict in the film takes place within Alex’s mind. There are no major plot twists or a mystery to be unravelled, yet the combination of busy sound, visceral cinematography and a raw central performance makes for a stressful and, at times, distressing viewing experience that keeps you gripped until its dramatic climax.
Lauren Hadaway, as both the writer and director, experienced competitive rowing in college herself—in fact, a lot of the film’s content is said to be autobiographical. However, if, like me, you don’t know the first thing about the sport, there is still lots to appreciate. Everyone has high expectations for themselves and a desire to succeed, with societal pressures often heightening this drive. The Novice explores this very common mindset, and doesn’t try to explain away Alex’s self-destructive behaviour with past trauma; instead, it almost acts as a cautionary tale of when dedication becomes obsession. The Novice is a terrifying thriller, made even more terrifying by its commitment to presenting the universal search for perfection.
The Verdict
The Novice tells a compelling story of the dangers of ambition—Lauren Hadaway is in complete control as the cox, with a skilled team on board to get this film to the finish line in style.
Words by Erin Zammitt
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