To find love is like being lost in the right direction. It’s where resentment doesn’t exist and support never ebbs. However, the means to form a healthy, passionate, and strong relationship is something that is learned — which is what Brittany Snow’s fantastic feature directorial debut is all about.
Parachute held its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2023, and it’s a worthwhile, grownup, and true-to-the-complicated-human-experience love story.
Through its intimate and emotionally raw rendering, viewers are dropped into a world that doesn’t approach love with any Hollywood flair. While moments can certainly be sweet enough to produce an everlasting smile, they’re not candy-coated in such a way that dons the feeling of a traditional romantic comedy or drama. Instead, it comes from an incredibly human place that leaves room for understanding and growth, and you’ll absorb all its emotional riches because of it.
Parachute doesn’t shy away from daring material. The story and its characters could have become too papered in sentimentality in less capable hands. But that’s not Snow’s film. Here, we meet characters Riley (a never-better Courtney Eaton) and Ethan (a super charming Thomas Mann), who find each other hours after exiting their own unique situations. For Riley, she just checked out of rehab for an eating disorder and addiction. And for Ethan, he was released from jail after throwing a wine bottle off a balcony following a breakup. Sparks are visible (ah, the city skyline with them leaning on each other), and the destination looks promising (thanks to a soundtrack flooded with coolness).
However, this story is anything but obvious. Their worlds are constantly thrown off balance. Ethan’s father (a very good Joel McHale) pays more attention to the bottle than his own son, but Ethan, despite his treatment and consistent pain, has so much love to give. He recognizes greatness in Riley that Riley doesn’t see in herself, and the support and challenge of their togetherness is the beating heart of the film and what keeps you invested until the very end.
Parachute is a poignant exercise in self-realization that details that we cannot truly love others without sufficient self-love. Through powerfully committed performances (that are made for awards), camera positioning, and editing (highlighting how Riley will often look at the details of another person’s body to measure against her own), Snow puts the entire cinematic tool belt to work. It’s both beautiful and tragic to witness the reality of these characters, whether it’s an extended scene of Riley making herself feel small in private moments in front of a mirror or Ethan questioning his value when routine (watching movies on a laptop) is used to distract him from the truth of what’s going on. There’s so much to gather from this film’s elegant subtleties.Â
Snow (from Pitch Perfect and Hairspray fame) has found another seamless home for storytelling as both a writer and director. Her specific and sincere methods have an essence that lingers on all the senses and uncovers aspects of the human experience we didn’t realize were feelings. This film encapsulates the messier and darker shades of ourselves, and Snow makes it feel as though it’s perfectly natural to capture that for the screen.
Go love this movie!
Q&A
Fresh Fiction sat down with Brittany Snow to discuss her directorial debut in more depth. Watch the conversation below, and catch Parachute in select theaters or streaming starting Apr. 12.
