Written by: Alex Russell
Starring: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Zack Fox, Havana Rose Liu, Wale Onayemi
Rating: [4/5]
The way we view celebrities has shifted wildly since the advent of social media. Before, fans would only receive access to their favorite stars through curated forms of media, but now celebrities share their daily lives with people in ways that begin to form unhealthy parasoacial relationships. It makes these fans feel like they know the celebrity, when everything still represents an image the celebrity pays to present. In Lurker, we see this troubling journey of one man’s affection for a celebrity and the disconcerting decisions made to stay within a fickle orbit.
Stopping by a clothing store in Los Angeles, rising pop musician Oliver (Archie Madekwe) meets a fan of his, Matthew (Théodore Pellerin), where they strike up a good conversation where the former asks the latter to hang out with him and his crew. As Matthew spends more time with Oliver and his friends, he loves it so much that as obstacles to remaining within the circle arise, he ensures to remove them as fiercely as he can.
Stories like Lurker have been told before with great impact, with Ingrid Goes West initially coming to mind, where we have a normal person sucked into the life of a celebrity and building an unhealthy attachment. As social media and the way people interact with celebrities continues to evolve, these stories feel even more prescient as the lines of separation continue to blur. You can see why someone like Matthew would desperately want to hang out with an artist like Oliver. This life includes attending concerts, travelling to different countries, and existing in a place where creativity thrives. The only issue for Matthew lies in the very fickle nature of this environment with Oliver, but this circle has never encountered someone quite like our protagonist and they learn quite the lesson.
When watching this film it becomes quite evident there’s something a bit off about Matthew. This comes through in the writing but also the devastatingly distributing performance by Théodore Pellerin. The blank stares this man gives through this performance took me aback in many moments as he captures the sheer desperation and calculated nature of Matthew as a character. It makes those cringe-inducing awkward moments shared in the film all the more difficult to take in. If this film has one thing it’s moments that make you want to look away by the sheer second-hand embarrassment you receive from watching everything Matthew does, and Théodore Pellerin deserves so much credit for contribution to it.
As Matthew gets deeper into this inner circle, the film also highlights some cogent elements about celebrity that has existed far longer than the social media age. The friends who sit around and do nothing but provide good vibes displays one of those elements. These individuals have been with Oliver for years but as the film progresses it raises a major question of what value they actually bring to the table for the artist. It’s obvious they do not pay for their own airfare and lodging when they travel around with Oliver so it makes their aggression towards Matthew’s presence all the more intriguing to see play out. At the end of the day everyone here is dispensable and it appears Oliver can only feed so many mouths at once, further displaying this survival of the fittest within this crew that says so much.
While Matthew receives much of the screen time, Lurker particularly impressed me on how much it focuses on Oliver not just as this celebrity figure, but also an artist. His fickle nature aside, this man cares about his craft and the message he delivers through his music, which makes him vulnerable to connect with someone who displays that same level of passion in Matthew. Archie Madekwe steps in to portray this character and does a stunningly good job, especially in the final act when some devastating revelations arise to the forefront he must contend with. These scenes under duress and stress ask Madekwe to oscillate between a central figure and a victim that really nail down the true sadness of this story.
An uncomfortable watch from beginning to end, Lurker not only succeeds because of how it dissects the current state of celebrity and the way they connect with fans, but also how one person can infiltrate a circle and refuse to leave. For someone like Matthew, whenever you are not petrified to be in his presence, you have to put give him some respect on the unending drive he has to achieve a certain relationship with Oliver. The guy does not know when to stop to get what he wants and while this turns into a personal hell for all else involved, it provides the audience with some good entertainment and plenty of reasons to wince and look away. Alex Russell mightily impresses with this as their feature film debut.
Films with Josh 
