"Her Body" Movie Review.

"Her Body" directed by Natalie Cisarovska is based on a true story about a diver headed to the Olympics until she endures a career ending spinal injury.

Andrea Absolonova (Natalia Germani) is a dedicated diver, she trains hard, denies herself food and is headed to the Olympics until a dive leaves her in the hospital with a serious spinal injury.

The direction captures the Eastern European people well; serious, lacking many smiles, the actors are focused on their lives and what they do in their everyday lives.

While Andrea is never outgoing or emotional about her diving, she dedicates her life to diving. Her whole being is on her success, the adulation that comes with it.

Andrea's mother has both her and her younger sister diving. They both have been diving since they were young girls. It is Andrea who is much better at it. The girls father, Otec (Martin Finger) is against the rigorous training. He is indignant about the way the mother rules over the girls. It is the mother who celebrates when Andrea is successful; where Andrea takes winning in stride, the mother is overly exuberant about her success.

In a very stealthy way, the director shows jealousy between the younger daughter; the disgust from the father at the mother's behavior towards the girls. The direction also shows the discipline required from the coaches with the athletes involved in diving.

Andrea is a favorite amongst her coach... she over trains, is always focused on diving and little else other than her fish. She also wins, almost in a robotic fashion. For some reason she refuses to eat, this may or not was the reason for her injury. The lack of food perhaps broke down her body and resulted in her injury.

The movie is shot darkly which gives it a mysterious flavor. From the diving scenes, her apartment and the club scenes, the movie is shot with low light. I thought it was shot well particularly the scenes between her and her coach. The darkness shows that it is just her at the diving board. The coach in the shot shows both authority by the coach and the full effect of the two trying to create a win, perfection; it also shows the pressure that Andrea is under trying to compete in a solo sport.

When Andrea sustains her injury, we get a dark, mysterious ambition about her. We see her resilience, her wanting to return to the big stage in a low key form of cinema. Never overly emotional, her Eastern block personality never swings too one way or the other. We just get little snippets of her personality. We are never sure what that personality is, so we watch the movie unfold. The direction brilliantly keeps us guessing as to what comes next.

The 2023 drama is based from the years 1996 until her untimely death in 2004. It starts with her repetitive about her practice, the way she trains, her lack of eating. Her roommate, her only friend, is not a competitive as Andrea is. Even though she too is at a higher level than most, it does not consume her life like it does Andrea. To Andrea, success in any form is her only interest; she wants more out of life than life has given her so far. She is nice looking and she knows it; she is talented and she knows it. She has little time for people who are not on her level.

Andrea's injury reduces her to commonality. She is working at a convenience store as a check out girl. In an undertone way by the direction, this does not sit well with her. She ends up dating a photographer/ porn camera man. She becomes interested in what he does and plans on becoming a star once again... a different kind of star. In this case a porn star. As a competitive person, she wants to become the best. She rises to stardom as a porn star. She cares less what her family or anyone else thinks about her or her new career. She wants stardom at any cost.

"Her Body" is a true story. The title is aptly titled. It was Andrea's choice to dive, it was her choice to become a porn star. Andrea uses her body for fame, regardless what that fame is.

Broadway Bob, No Bull With Raging Robert, Hollywood, Oscars.