I decided to see _Madeline’s Madeline_ after having enjoyed Josephine Decker’s film _Shirley_. This movie tackles quite a few themes—race, mental health struggles, growing up, conflicts between mothers and daughters, and also incorporates a self-aware theatrical element—and while it's admirable in its scope, I often got the sense that it was pushing too hard to convey significance. However, Helena Howard is truly rem…

I’m not sure this worked for me because regardless of how innovative the underlying idea seemed to be – or ideas within that idea – I simply didn’t feel invested in the central character, Helena Howard. Things got off to an uneasy start with the line "you are not a cat, you are inside a cat" - it wasn't something I wanted to picture at all. She portrays someone striving for an acting career and willing to work hard t…