The feature debut from writer-director Naqqash Khalid, In Camera has a number of familiar reference points, certainly when it comes to the exploration of a young actor struggling with the grind and toll of the audition process, but also adds an exploration of self-identity that allows it to feel fresh and more accessible.
Nabhaan Rizwan plays Aden, our main character, and he's struggling to keep his spirits up as he moves from one audition to the next, often trying to sell himself to disinterested assistants. Aden shares living space with Bo (Rory Fleck Byrne), a junior doctor who is also feeling the strain of his career choice, but they also take on another tenant in the form of Conrad (Amir El-Masry), a confident and energised young man who works in the realms of fashion and lifestyle branding. While initially wary of Conrad, Aden soon comes to learn that he can mimic some of his attitude to perhaps help him work on a better "fake it until you make it" approach.
If I mentioned the main films that came to mind while watching In Camera then I would risk creating some kind of expectation in your mind that the film itself may not necessarily meet. Suffice to say, two fairly well-known features from the last few decades kept looming large as I noticed intriguing intersections between them and this, but there's also every chance that other viewers will take something very different away from their viewing experience. This is a very personal story positioned in a world that is often impersonal. Despite us growing closer and more connected, in many ways, thanks to the internet, it's also just a way to provide extra barriers and obstacles, from ongoing comparisons to other people on Instagram to a bigger struggle to simply stop people being distracted by their phones.
Khalid presents everything with the sense that he knows a lot of it from bitter personal experience. I may be jumping to the wrong assumption here, but there are exchanges, in dialogue and just in looks between characters, that stem from a life lived through far too many familiar moments of weariness and exasperation. He keeps everything intriguing though, especially in a second half that allows the lead character to start a slight and tentative transformation, and, while many moments speak to specific experiences, that specificity (as is so often the case) also creates a universal recognition for anyone who has been mistreated, taken for granted, dismissed, or constantly overlooked in favour of someone else.
Rizwan is fantastic in the lead role, confident and capable in his performance in a way that belies the fact that he's only been acting onscreen for just over half a decade now. It's the kind of performance that signifies even greater things to come. Both Byrne and El-Masry do very well, although both have easier and more straightforward characters to portray, and there's a very short sequence featuring Gana Bayarsaikhan that allows her to steal part of the movie with her inquisitive and empathetic character.
Smart, sharp, sometimes darkly comedic, In Camera has quite a faultless cast and crew working together to take viewers on a difficult, but rewarding, journey. It doesn't answer every question that it poses, but it provides enough material for viewers to consider a number of interpretations and decide on the ending that they deem to be the most satisfying.
8/10
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