SXSW 2025 Review: “Slanted” – A Bold Directorial Debut by Amy Wang!
As adults, many of us look back on high school and realize how insignificant it was in the grand scheme of our lives. We don’t remember half the people’s names, haven’t seen them in decades, and maybe have one or two friends we still connect with. Who you were in high school next to never dictates who you will be for the rest of your life. However, one thing we all remember is how during that time it felt like the center of our world and getting the most out of it felt like our main focus. It’s hard to tell a high schooler that those four years won’t matter at all. Especially a teenager who has grown up idolizing the status and beauty of winning prom queen.
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Joan Huang (Shirley Chen, best known as the incredible older sister in Dìdi), arrived in America at a young age, quickly realizing her Chinese traditions won’t fly with the “cool” kids at school. Her father (Fang Du) works as a custodian at the local high school where Joan witnesses one of the most magical sights she has ever seen, a high school prom. Upon seeing the elegance and popularity that comes with being the queen of the prom, she sets her sights on achieving this title. Only one problem. Every prom queen at school has always been a white, blond, and popular girl. What seems like a nail in the coffin for her dreams becomes a possibility when Joan stumbles upon an experimental surgery whose mission is to allow people of color to achieve true “equality” by altering their appearance to appear white. Slanted takes a bold swing in this science fiction-drama-comedy but some of its decisions along the way greatly impact the film’s desired impact.
On a higher note, Slanted is handled by a filmmaker who clearly understands the hurt, sadness, and destruction living in a white society can have on a Chinese American. The beginning half of the film maintains a more subtle and somber tone, watching Joan struggle to fit in with the kids at school at a young age as well as later in life. She has one best friend Brindha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) whom she spends time with in school but appears even more introverted in her daily life. When Joan discovers this irreversible treatment to become white, the pain Shirley Chen is able to display is heartbreaking to watch.
slanted premiere at @sxsw 💛 pic.twitter.com/uHb0bRuHTs
— Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (@ramakrishnannn) March 9, 2025
Slanted shows how beaten down Joan feels chasing after something she knows she will never have, until now. Watching her decide to forgo the surgery never feels like a quick decision made by a teenager. It feels like a decision made from years of desire for a more “fulfilling” life. As a result, this movie sustains a darker tone even in the midst of some over-the-top satire and comedy mixed in.
The greatest dive in the film comes from Wang’s choice to fully remove its main character in Shirley Chen and switch her out with McKenna Grace once Joan undergoes the surgery. The change in performance is not so much the issue as is the nosedive the script takes going from Joan’s internal battle with herself to familiar territory in a high school genre film. Once the switch is made, the film plays out like any adolescent film taking on acceptance, popularity, and fitting in. The only way the film maintains its given subtext is in the audience’s understanding that Joan is behind the new face. This abandonment of Shirley Chen takes with it the uniqueness of the premise and mood where this bold choice by Wang is a swing and a miss. Utilizing Chen’s performance throughout and allowing her to play a role in the rest of the film with creative tactics or editing would have made the rest of the film stronger, being able to witness the excitement and regret of making such a dire choice.
“Slanted” makes its SXSW debut with Mckenna Grace on the red carpet! 🎉 #SlantedMovie #SXSW2025 #MckennaGrace #Slanted pic.twitter.com/TCFBZJL4Xv
— CineBuz (@cinebuz) March 8, 2025
Slanted is a mix of almost every genre. Although some of the satire is a little too over the top and on the nose, the movie brings in body horror that mirrors Joan’s shame and regret she experiences later in the film. Her literal and figurative mask begins to slip as she realizes the consequences of her decision. The audience feels unsettled watching Joan have to face an irrevocable decision that she has made so early in life, making us reflect on how little we actually knew about the world or ourselves at that age. As a result, it pains us to witness such a tragedy and how the system we live in often causes people of color to feel like they will never get a fair shot. Slanted in all of its swings succeeds at times but misses the big chances to elevate its script.
‘Slanted’ Rating – 3/5
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