If I don't say so myself, fictional movie popstars are having a moment—particularly in the genre space. Last year gifted us with two hot pop girlies in Trap and Smile 2 with Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) and Naomi Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), respectively. While not a new idea, the streak of notable popstar characters is a fun one and continues this year in full force with writer-director Emma Higgins' SXSW entry Sweetness. The popstar at the center of Sweetness is the Harry Styles, Brendon Urie-adjacent Payton Reed (Herman Tømmeraas), taking on the modicum of the band Floor Plan. The foil to Payton Reed is Sweetness' main character, Rylee (Kate Hallett), a tormented high schooler whose borderline obsession with Floor Plan's catchy pop lyrics has helped her work through the tragic death of her mom, as well as some particularly vile bullies. Her fandom is innocent enough until, after fulfilling her dream of seeing Floor Plan in concert, a chance encounter with Payton Reed leads her down a dark path of trapping him in her neighbor's basement, handcuffed to a pipe. Yikes! The Misery-esque plot offers insightful and sympathetic commentary on modern toxic fandom and how, in many ways, the music industry fuels it. With a seasoned background in both the music industry and music video production, Higgins perfectly immerses us into a believable story about how far a fan might go to pursue what they perceive as true love. Below, we were delighted to chat with Higgins about everything from...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Friday, 14 March, 2025