ENDORPHINE
VANGUARD D: André Turpin. Canada. 84 min. Sep 11, 5:45 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 Sep 12 11:45 am Bloor Hot Docs. See listing. Rating: NN
Quebec cinematographer Turpin (Maelström, Incendies, Mommy) hasn’t directed a feature since 2001’s Une Crabe Dans La Tête, so it’s a shame that Endorphine feels like such a trifle.
A time-scrambled drama centred on teenage Simone (Monsieur Lazhar’s Sophie Nélisse) as she struggles to comprehend a traumatic event, it’s visually impressive and crisply edited, framing one girl’s sense of dislocation against trippy quantum theories of time and probability.
But then it just goes on and on a movie this short shouldn’t really feel so long. Stylish as Endorphine may be, there’s simply nothing to it.