By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The quest for transformation takes a frightening turn.
Bleecker Street releases SLANTED nationwide March 13. The latest in the altered-identity horror trend exemplified by THE SUBSTANCE, it was written and directed by Amy Wang and stars Shirley Chen, Mckenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber and Fang Du. The synopsis: “Joan Huang [Chen] idolizes the popular girls and dreams of being prom queen, but fears the only way to win is to look like all the past queens whose portraits line her high school halls. Enter Ethnos: a mysterious cosmetic surgery clinic that makes people of color appear white. Joan undergoes the procedure and wakes up a beautiful blonde destined for the crown, but at what cost?”
“As an immigrant, I’ve always been aware that I looked different,” Wang says. “As a teenager trying desperately to fit in, I used to wake up and wonder, wouldn’t life just be easier if I were white? SLANTED is a satirical exploration of whiteness that challenges that question. It examines the cost of chasing acceptance, and what it means to abandon yourself in the process. Is belonging worth losing who you are for a system that was never built to value you?”
