Bitingly funny, witty 'Clairevoyant' mocks millennial ennui

Posted at 11:38 AM, Jun 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-23 11:38:37-04

TUCSON, Ariz. — "Clairevoyant" is a stinging satire of a mockumentary that knowingly roasts a culture that produces a nation of people who are so self-absorbed they hardly look up from their social media feeds to check out the world around them. The movie was set for a June 18 VOD release.

Micaela Wittman, who writes and directs along with Arthur De Larroche, stars as Claire, a sheltered dilettante who embarks on a quest for fame disguised as a delusional search for self-discovery. She hires a film crew to follow her along as she makes a movie that seeks to answer life's greatest questions.

She's all about yoga, sage, crystals and pumpkin spice lattes. A clueless voice of the "do it for the 'gram" generation, she seeks spiritualism because it would look good on a caption.

She literally uses the word "literally" way too often, literally, while literally being unaware that she does. Literally.

She seeks out gurus, teachers and others she mistakes as such in search of bread crumbs on her path to enlightenment.

As she fumbles her way through unintentional racist slurs, mushrooming confusion and verbal blunders, she inches herself along a path of self-actualization. The act of completing a project, no matter how frivolous, is a reward unto itself.

And Wittman, though mocking her character with callow mannerisms and grinning obliviousness, adds depth and relatability to the character by revealing her insecurities.

Witty writing and nuanced performances give the film a "Borat"-style feel, with everything building to a surprisingly poignant conclusion that catches you off guard. It doesn't take clairvoyance to see that immense success awaits Wittman and De Larroche.

RATING: 3.5 stars out of 4

This story was originally published by Phil Villarreal on Scripps station KGUN in Tucson, Arizona.

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