“Not Okay” by Quinn Shephard informs viewers that it has “flashing lights, trauma themes, and an unlikeable female protagonist,” however this is only partially accurate. The sequel to “Blame” examines how social media accepts and even distorts victim stories through the story of Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), an Instagram want tobe who buries herself in a web of lies involving an international disaster. Danni’s decisions are definitely unlikable (and not necessarily credible), but Shephard appears reluctant to fully exploit the satirical possibilities of this convoluted story, despite the fact that Danni’s actions are unquestionably unlikeable. In the end, it’s an entertaining drama with strong performances from Deutch and the quickly-rising star Mia Isaac (also excellent in the recent “Don’t Make Me Go”), but it’s too often willing to poke fun at easy targets rather than asking why people lie for popularity or how we turn survivors of extreme violence into celebrities.
It is not a spoiler to reveal that Danni Sanders becomes one of the most despised characters in “Not Okay” because the story begins after she has been exposed as a big, immoral phoney. Later in the video, when Danni suggests she’s tough enough to handle a few Twitter bullies, it’s amusing to recall the beginning, in which the entire internet appears to despise her. Why has Danni Sanders become the person with the most cancellations in recent years?
Danni is reintroduced in “Not Okay” as a picture editor at an online magazine called Depravity, a cleverly-named site I would absolutely read. Danni’s first scene with her supervisor Susan (Negin Farsad) is one of the film’s funniest, as she bemoans the trivial troubles in her life, such as being on a cruise during 9/11 and missing out on the experience with her peers. She is so superficial that she gets “9/11 FOMO.” Even before the actual plot of “Not Okay” begins, Danni has been established as a social media creature who doesn’t know the difference between tragedy and happiness—both increase social followings, right? She comes from an era in which any term that can be utilised in a social profile is a plus.
And this setup results in the deception that will transform Danni’s life. It begins rather easily. She fumbles through a conversation with her crush Colin (a fairly unremarkable Dylan O’Brien), a co-worker who constantly exhales a vape cloud, and concludes by announcing that she is heading to France. She is not able to afford it. She devises a plan instead of walking back the falsehood that Colin has likely already forgotten. She uses her photographic abilities to create the illusion that she is at a writer’s retreat in Paris. One morning, she posts a photo of herself at the Arc de Triomphe, and then terrorists assault the City of Lights, detonating a bomb at the exact spot where she took the shot. Danni decides to go through with it, pretending to be a survivor, and her new social celebrity status climbs even higher when she allies herself with Rowan (Isaac), an actual school shooting survivor who has become an outspoken campaigner.
There are numerous assertions throughout “Not Okay” that Danni is unlikeable and will not have a redemption arc, yet the script repeatedly thwarts the possibility of a truly dark satire since it’s almost too sympathetic to Danni’s cause. There is a version of this film that emphasises the horror of those who benefit off actual tragedy, whichever that term is defined. It appears that Shephard is reluctant to go there, leaving portions of the film toothless. Danni is taught by Rowan. She learns that survivor stories have real stakes and that there are actual people on the other end of hashtags such as #IAmNotOkay, which she and Rowan create. Danni steals Rowan’s suffering, which is a component of the narrative that is underdeveloped. It’s wonderful to be reminded in the Insta-Era that social media has a tendency to dehumanise people. But I kept wanting “Not Okay” to live up to that opening volley in a way that makes viewers feel genuinely uneasy.
“Not Okay” lands somewhere between satire and character analysis. It lacks the sharpness for the former and the realism for the latter. So what remains? There is a lot worse version of this exact picture with an actress who doesn’t understand how to walk the tonal tightrope of this character, and Deutch’s performance in this film is exemplary. I simply desired a bit more to chew on.