ReelBob: ‘Another Girl’ ★★½

A movie about loneliness filled with despair, but salvaged during its surprising final 10 minutes.

Though only 96 minutes, “Another Girl” is maddening. At times you hate it; other moments suck you right back into the feature.

Mainly holding your attention is the performance of Sammi Hanratty as Elle Overton. Like the movie itself, you feel as if you want to get as far away from Elle as possible — she’s whiny, needy and seemingly always depressed.

But you feel compelled to watch her as she shares the train wreck of her life with another young woman, Katie Kampenfelt.

The problem is, Katie is not real. She’s a fictional character from a book. But Elle, in desperation for someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on, believes Katie is an actual person — especially when Elle receives responses to comments she posts on Katie’s supposed website.

“Another Girl” is not so much a catfish story or a cautionary tale about the perils of the Internet.

It’s more a character story about the weight of loneliness and how it impacts the choices we make.

That is especially true of Elle who seems to take the wrong path — at work and in her personal life — whenever she comes to a fork in the road.

Frankly, if I saw Elle on the sidewalk, I would cross the street. She is so emotionally deprived that you fear she will latch onto you like Velcro.

In a vast majority of the film’s shots, Elle is alone, either writing on her laptop or holding conversations — which you don’t know if she is “hearing” Katie’s voice in messages on her computer or if they are imaginary — or when Ellie is scrolling through even more messages on her phone.

Hanratty grabs you and, as much as you want to shake loose of her grip, she refuses to release you. She freaks you out, yet her sincerity and cries for attention are so compelling that you feel obliged to listen.

Writer-director Allison Burnett, adapting his own novel, creates a pseudo-Hitchcockian atmosphere. You know something is off, but you aren’t sure whether it is Elle or the enigmatic Katie — whom we never see.

What raises “Another Girl” to another level — and gives meaning to the film’s title — is its finale. It is dark and disturbing — and somewhat unexpected.

To reach it though, you have to helplessly watch Elle follow one bad decision with another, knowing that with each one her life is spiraling downward.

“Another Girl” drags you into a pit of despair that you struggle to climb out before it buries you alive.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

ANOTHER GIRL
2½ stars out of 4
Not rated, sexual content, language