REVIEW: ‘Am I OK?’ Is Just Alright

There’s half of a good movie in Am I OK? It would be easier if it were all bad, but it often wanders so close to being something emotionally profound and heartfelt that it catches us off-guard. There’s a pointed relatability to the story, which centers on a 32-year-old woman who is adrift amidst a litany of life changes, monumental and seemingly insignificant.

But for all that, the story plays with emotional truths. It deals with the vitality of what it means to acknowledge and embrace your sexuality later in the timeline than others, and it lacks a humanistic spark. For all it champions this idea of grounded reality, Am I OK? is shockingly inauthentic.

This is clear in the opening moments when we first meet best friends Lucy (Dakota Johnson) and Jane (Sonoya Mizuno). From the Pinterest-ready, fashion-inspo costuming to Lucy’s beautiful, open home in L.A., despite working as a front desk clerk for a local spa, there’s a level of incredulity to their lives we must overlook from the jump. Directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, it’s not enough to immediately throw us from the film’s core. Still, it follows a trend of films where even relatability seems perfectly curated and coifed.

Written by Lauren Pomerantz, Am I OK? follows Lucy, a 32-year-old woman hit by several realizations quickly. First, she’s a lesbian. Second, her best friend is planning on moving to work. Thirdly, she’s unhappy with her job and misses her passion, painting. The first two garners the greatest sweeping moments, even if they’re all understated.

Her coming out is particularly poignant, as it reminds us that there’s no set timeline for coming to terms with our sexuality. She constantly stresses that she’s “too late” and feels weird that it took her so long to realize it. It’s an incredibly human emotion, one that’s talked down by her friend, Jane, who tries to soothe the pain while also trying to speed-run Lucy’s lesbian experience.

It’s how the story works Lucy’s coming-out with Jane’s moving that provides the film’s beating heart. Both are trying to cope with these significant changes. While Lucy is more likely to sit with the emotions and let them dictate her next moves, Jane is prone to movement, captured beautifully by Mizuno’s performance. Mizuno is a tightly coiled electrical charge as she constantly moves within the frame through her office or on a hike. There’s a shark-like intensity to her performance that gives her the necessary, imposing edge to Lucy’s more docile personality.

The chemistry between Mizuno and Johnson is superb, and we immediately believe in the decade-spanning friendship. It’s the best Johnson has been, too. For someone of her poise, she’s often been cast as a mousy, introverted character. Am I OK? makes us buy it, finally. From her self-deprecating humor to how she finally lights up while kissing another woman, Johnson embodies how we physically curl ourselves around our insecurities, only unfolding when she genuinely embraces who she is.

It’s a shame, then, that the inauthentic nature of the writing often undercuts these pivotal moments. Arguments come out of nowhere, biting and bruising for the sake of creating the second-act drama that leads us into the third act. Characters are written with a milquetoast idea of what being a millennial is, meaning self-absorbed and social-media obsessed without ever trying to dig deeper than those archetypes.

This isn’t helped by the directing, which is cursory and bland rather than dynamic. The actresses are doing the heavy lifting, while the filmmaking is fine to simply hang on for the ride. With such captivating leads and ideas, energy must be behind the lens.

Instead, the film takes no great pains in crafting something full and engaged. There are definite highs. An early sequence between Lucy and Jane, as the former comes out to her friend, is poignant and deliberately understated. It highlights the vulnerability that comes with the moment while also prioritizing the friendship, a reminder of the special access room our best friends hold in our hearts. There are little gestures of relatability, such as the bizarre jealousy we feel over friendships and workplace flirtations that confound us. Our heart yearns and breaks for Lucy constantly.

But despite this, Am I OK? is too consumed with a level of artifice and never quite scales the wall it needs to in order to become something universally profound. I’m moved by it, but any film about a 32-year-old woman waffling about and trying to discern her trajectory in life will affect me. I’m the intended target and an easy one at that, prone to tears and laughter when caught up in a story about two best friends. But even still, it’s lackluster due to the affected dialogue and glitzy setting.

Am I OK? is hardly a bad film, but it has the promise to be something better than the sum of its parts. Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno are tremendous. But beyond the lead performances and a strong, central idea, the film can’t ever manage to live up to the idea it’s built on.

Am I OK? premieres on Max on June 6.