Céline Roustan
A so-called WOACA – Woman Of A Certain Age, arguably one of the worst acronyms ever – maintains a strict daily ritual: her skincare routine, of course. But all hell breaks loose when a zit appears on her face! In her directorial debut WOACA, Mackenzie Davis (best known for her roles in front of the camera) crafts a visceral narrative that will make you squirm. For all y’all fans of The Substance, body horror (especially those into pimple popping), or Sidse Babett Knudsen aficionados – which should be everyone – drop your snacks and enjoy these thirteen minutes of joyful discomfort.
We’ve all become accustomed to scrolling through skincare routines on our social media feeds and there is almost something soothing in watching someone fully immersed in self-care mode. This is how WOACA begins – a woman in her “me-time”, using various products and tools to fight our face’s worst enemy, the passage of time. Watching Knudsen apply creams, serums, lotions is as universal and relatable as it could be – don’t forget your neck and your hands! A steady rhythm emerges from these scenes, one that echoes the repetition of this daily choreography, only occasionally interrupted by a pesky fly (what’s up with Knudsen and insects?).
Sidse Babett Knudsen stars in Mackenzie Davis’ WOACA.
Davis quickly switches gear and upends that balance when, a third of the way into WOACA, a zit appears! And just like all of us, it throws the protagonist for a loop, her reaction going from rational to complete insanity in trying to fight this new enemy. She plunges down a rabbit hole, wanting to get rid of the pimple at all costs! Davis frames this struggle as a not-so-metaphorical fight between the woman and the skin imperfection. As we watch her showing up in front of the mirror for her daily ritual looking increasingly tired and less put together, the zit continues on its mission to take over her face. Only one of them will make it out alive! This battle radically alters the comforting pace of the first part of the film, with Davis effectively creating tension and raising the stakes.
Working with DP Magdalena Górka, Davis also frames this disturbance in the woman’s life with the carefully crafted cinematography, which plays a paramount role in immersing us in the narrative. The short begins with comforting, perfectly symmetrical images, but with the arrival of the zit it gradually upsets that symmetry and progressively takes more and more space in the frame, as it does in the woman’s mind.
To reach a potent, thus satisfying climax, with such a simple premise, WOACA relies on the (pun intended) face-off between the woman and her zit. To achieve this, Hair and Make-up Designer Kari Rødnes made such a remarkably disgusting pimple that it quickly transforms into the perfect antagonist – not just for the protagonist and but for the viewers’ eyes and stomach, too. Just writing the word pus makes me nauseous, but the design here is beyond GROSS, inducing nausea to the point where I had to look away for a second. But where the film is even more satisfying, is in her reaction after that disgusting battle, because let’s be honest, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as finally getting it all out.
The spot has not only started to disrupt the symmetry of the character’s face, but of the film’s perfect photography.
No praise for this film would be complete without applauding Sidse Babett Knudsen’s performance! Without a single line of dialogue, she takes her character on the emotional roller coaster Davis pushed her into, and does so effortlessly. From the numbness of the start, to the growing anger, turmoil and desperation, until that joyful, liberating satisfaction of the end, Knudsen nails every single layer of Davis’ screenplay while deepening its resonance and fleshing out her character.
With its World Premiere at the 2023 edition of TIFF, WOACA went on to be selected at multiple festivals including the London Film Festival and Show Me Shorts, before premiering online as a Vimeo Staff Pick. We figured that a little bit (OK, more like a lot!) of gross bodily fluids was perfect for this Halloween week.