really frustrated by this one!

there are so many good elements here (especially the pixel art sequences! loved those!) and the subjects of the doc have fascinating stories. but i found the editing choices here strange - there are huge beats in narcissa’s speedrunning achievements that get very little screen time, as the film chooses to prioritize showing us multiple clips of her spiraling (often feeling repetitive without escalation within the narrative). i got the sense that the film is trying to prove to us that she’s mentally ill, even though that comes across from the start.

there’s a really interesting story here about achievements, fame, personal identity, and online connection. instead the film chooses to focus almost entirely on her depression with those elements as background noise, and i wish it had gone deeper. 

also, the film would’ve benefitted a lot from some expert interviews with people such as speedrunners and mental health professionals.

really frustrated by this one!

there are so many good elements here (especially the pixel art sequences! loved those!) and the subjects of the doc have fascinating stories. but i found the editing choices here strange - there are huge beats in narcissa’s speedrunning achievements that get very little screen time, as the film chooses to prioritize showing us multiple clips of her spiraling (often feeling repetitive without escalation within the narrative). i got the sense that the film is trying to prove to us that she’s mentally ill, even though that comes across from the start.

there’s a really interesting story here about achievements, fame, personal identity, and online connection. instead the film chooses to focus almost entirely on her depression with those elements as background noise, and i wish it had gone deeper. 

also, the film would’ve benefitted a lot from some expert interviews with people such as speedrunners and mental health professionals.