Mainstream

Directed by Gia Coppola, Mainstream follows an aspiring filmmaker (Maya Hawke’s Frankie) as she and an oddball named Link (Andrew Garfield) achieve overnight internet success. Filmmaker Coppola, working from her and Tom Stuart, delivers a progressively hit-and-miss endeavor that begins with a tremendous amount of promise, as the movie kicks off with a captivating opening stretch that effectively pokes fun at the ridiculousness of influencer culture – with the compelling atmosphere heightened by Garfield’s magnetic and completely mesmerizing turn as the enigmatic (and oddly-named) Link. It’s disappointing to note, then, that Mainstream eventually segues into a second half overflowing with hackneyed, underwhelming plot points and character developments, including a fairly tedious love triangle and an almost eye-rollingly didactic third act, which ensures that the picture peters out long before it arrives at its padded-out and mostly tedious climactic stretch. The end result is a hopelessly erratic piece of work that squanders its terrific setup and performances, and it’s clear, ultimately, that Mainstream would’ve benefited from a less aggressively paint-by-numbers narrative.

** out of ****