Likeness (2013)

Film Overview
"Likeness" is a 2013 brief film directed by Rodrigo Prieto and starring Elle Fanning and James Ellis. The film works as Prieto's directorial debut, which he also produced and recorded. The movie is an assessment of society's ridiculous requirements of charm and how it significantly affects the impressionable minds, particularly girls. The motion picture mostly handles body image issues and the anorexia, bulimia, and other disorders that often take place as a result.

Plot Summary
The film kickstarts with Mia (played by Elle Fanning), participating in a party with a group of her good friends. The environment is wild and extreme, filled with laughing, drinking, and teens enjoined in reckless behavior. Mia, nevertheless, appears visibly uneasy and out of location. She's revealed gazing at her reflection and the people around her, taking in pictures of what society deems as 'best' bodies around her. It is apparent that she comes to grips with severe body image problems.

Mia leaves the party and goes into the bathroom, and it is then that the movie takes a spooky, surreal turn. The bathroom is filled with mannequins that have 'perfect' female bodies. Mia examines these unrealistic bodies with both fascination and revulsion. This scene metaphorically represents Mia's battle with her own self-image and her desperation to fit into the societal standards of appeal, indirectly moving her into the course of self-destruction.

Styles and Messages
"Likeness" rather clearly introduces themes of body-shaming, social expectations, peer pressure, and eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Using hallucinatory and nightmarish visuals, the movie tactfully articulates the extreme psychological distress experienced by those struggling with body image concerns and the length to which they might go to fit into the social constructs of 'perfect' bodies.

The mannequins stand as a specific representation of the unattainable requirements of appeal that struggle numerous young people, mainly ladies. On the other hand, the chaotic celebration scene symbolically represents the pressure of fitting in-- both socially and aesthetically-- regardless of internal struggles.

Ending and Performances
The movie concludes with Mia collapsing in the restroom, symbolizing her catching the pressures of accomplishing an ideal body, followed by insecurity, self-loathing, and lastly, self-destruction. It's a powerful pointer of the hazardous lengths to which people may go to conform to societal expectations.

Elle Fanning's efficiency in the film is especially commendable. She convincingly depicts the mental strife of a young girl fighting her insecurities and disorder.

Crucial Reception
"Likeness" manages to interact an effective message about body image, social pressures, and the consequential mental health problems in its short period. Though the movie's explicit imagery and extreme subject matter may interrupt some viewers, it was typically lauded for clarifying an often-ignored issue. Prieto's vibrant visual language and Elle Fanning's effective performance got substantial praise and included depth to this emotionally challenging topic.

Conclusion
In conclusion, "Likeness" is a dark, introspective assessment of societal appeal requirements and their terrible results on young people. It's a bold directorial launching from Prieto, boldly talking about concerns that demand our attention and producing a space for much-needed dialogue about body positivity and psychological health.

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