Watch Imitation Girl

Imitation Girl is a 2017 independent science-fiction film that tells the story of an alien entity that comes to Earth in the form of a young woman. The movie explores the themes of identity, loss, and the human condition in a unique and thought-provoking way. The film follows two parallel storylines that eventually converge towards the end. The first storyline follows the alien entity, which takes on the form of a young woman named Julianna (Lauren Ashley Carter) as it explores the human world. The entity has seemingly landed on Earth in the middle of a desert and has no clear idea of what it is supposed to do. It wanders around for a while, exploring the wilderness, and slowly starts to understand human emotions and behavior by observing and mimicking them.

As Julianna explores the human world, she takes up a job in a strip club, where she tries to connect with the dancers and customers. She also befriends a young man named Cody (Neimah Djourabchi) who is fascinated by her mysterious aura. Through their interactions, we see Julianna slowly becoming more human-like, struggling with feelings of loneliness and longing for connection.

The other storyline follows a struggling musician named Paul (also played by Lauren Ashley Carter), who is on the cusp of a breakthrough when she suddenly disappears. As her bandmates and family try to come to terms with her disappearance, we see Paul slowly emerging from the desert, disoriented and confused. As she tries to piece together what has happened to her, we see her struggling to connect with the world around her and grappling with a sense of loss and disorientation.

As the two storylines converge, we see Paul and Julianna coming face to face, with the former recognizing the latter as her doppelganger. Each character begins to understand more about herself and the nature of existence, leading to a bittersweet and poignant conclusion that explores themes of self-discovery and what it means to be human.

Imitation Girl is a beautifully shot and well-acted film that explores complex themes in a subtle and almost poetic way. The movie is anchored by Lauren Ashley Carter's twin performances as Paul and Julianna, which are both mesmerizing in their own way. Her portrayal of a woman struggling to come to terms with her own identity is both haunting and heartbreaking, and her performance as the alien entity is both otherworldly and deeply empathetic.

The film also benefits from its atmospheric visuals, which capture the barren beauty of the desert landscape and the neon glare of the strip club with equal skill. The movie has a dreamlike quality that is at once eerie and hypnotic, and the score by Michelle J. Wang complements the visuals perfectly, adding an otherworldly dimension to the proceedings.

Overall, Imitation Girl is a singular and deeply affecting film that rewards those who are willing to engage with its abstract themes and slow-burn storytelling. It is a film that lingers long after the credits have rolled, leaving the viewer with much to ponder about the nature of identity, loss, and what it means to be truly human.

Imitation Girl is a 2018 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 23 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 4.9.