Film Review: Bikini Moon Is A Strange Film Experience On Mental Health
SYNOPSIS: Initially discovered when the documentary filmmakers happen upon her at a homeless center, the lively and charismatic Bikini, brought to life in a whirlwind performance by Condola Rashad (of Showtime’s “Billions”), soon becomes entrenched in the lives of the crew as they struggle to simultaneously help Bikini stay on her feet and complete their project. A self-described “Jesus with tits,” Bikini yearns to use her master carpentry skills to build a new life for herself and the daughter that was taken away by the foster care system.
Bikini Moon is one the strangest films to come out on 2018 because it is everything. It is almost indescribable because it surpasses movie genres. It uses fantasy, satire, thriller, documentary, and drama to make you feel like you are watching a series of scenes from different films being glued together by a singular cast. Yet, I do not say this as a negative. Some will watch Bikini Moon and be riveted by its difference, while others will be perplexed. No matter what, everyone will agree it finds anchor in the charisma and sheer power of Condola Rashad as an actress.
Condola Rashad is an actress. There are certain actors that you watch them and you say, “You were destined for this craft.” It is not just that acting is, literally, in her blood, i.e. Phylicia Rashad, but it just feels as if it makes her flesh and bones. Playing the lead, Bikini, Condola is so intense, forceful, consuming, feeble, and tender; she is like a bear that can go from teddy to testy in a millisecond. One minute she is fluffed with kindness and a sparkling wit, only to tear into her surroundings with a vicious bite. It is no wonder that Sarah Goldberg’s Kate and Will Janowitz’s Trevor get warped into her rollercoaster of delusions and emotions. She is like a walking supernova; with the spiritual capacity to birth planets of ideas and freneticism. Yet, her highs and lows play into a bigger picture that should not be forgotten: mental heath amongst veterans.
As Bikini is followed by a film crew documenting and editing her life out of fascination and the potential of fame, you feel bad at seeing her mental instability be used, in a way, for fodder. Kate and Will balance self-interests between altruism, like most human beings do, and Goldberg and Janowitz are excellent in giving their characters a complex depth. They feel sucked into Bikini’s madness, and do not know whether they can or should save her heart. It is in this dynamic that I, especially, felt the fact that Bikini was a veteran. While Director and Writer Milcho Manchevski’s has made a masterful madness of a film, viewers might miss this particular point because of it. You get so caught by the randomness of events, the sporadic changes of scenes, the tumultuous relationships rupturing in the film that this message might not fully strike.
Bikini is a homeless veteran. She has lost her mind, her child, her health, and, in many ways, her dignity. For however charming and bright she is, such qualities feel clipped, and the film could have stood alone, based on Rashad’s performance, as a movie of a vet breaking down everyday more and more. Part of why Bikini seesaws in sentimentally is because she lacks clarity, but Manchevski does make intriguing choices in showing no character is completely, mentally clear. The only difference is that most of them know how to carry and compartmentalize their insanities. Hence, we grow awed by characters like Bikini whom are leaving reality. Thanks to Rashad, Bikini becomes an emblem of how vast, soulful pain can make you lose your grasp on life, and, perhaps, you want to. Bikini Moon comes out in Theaters October 12.
