PURE (Jim Donovan). 80 minutes. Opens Friday (April 21). For venues and times, see Movie Listings. Rating: NNN Rating: NNN
Pure is a rather bland title for a film that’s anything but.
Misha ( Laura Jordan ) is a 22-year-old former Montreal party girl who for some reason has moved to the suburbs. When she decides to go back to school downtown to finish her science degree, she’s sucked back into a life of drugs and partying with her attractive but aimless friends.
Writer/director Jim Donovan doesn’t stack the deck in this cautionary tale about finally growing up. The club scenes aren’t hotbeds of evil they’re full of fun and abandon. The electronic music, featuring some well-known local and international DJs, is pretty hypnotic.
Donovan also has a good ear for the slightly bored pronouncements of 20-somethings in and out of love. Jordan, who radiates a nice mix of confidence and vulnerability, has a terrific scene with her slimy club promoter ex ( Tim Rozon ) that’s straight out of He’s Just Not That Into You.
The cast of unknowns is fresh and surprising. Karen Simpson is a lot of fun as Misha’s good-time friend Angie, and Robert Crooks steals a scene or two as Angie’s paranoid, directionless lover.
Donovan has a playful directing technique and gets a lot out of what’s obviously a limited budget. Too bad about his script’s precious voice-over and a somewhat sappy metaphysical theme that feels grafted on.
