Sweat is a rather effective depiction of how toxic the social media environment can be and the number of negative consequences it may entail. Magnus von Horn’s second feature-length film does not only limit itself in portraying the shallowness behind this “world” through its character study but tries to deal with stalking as well, even though in a dubious way.

Sylwia Zajac is a 30-year-old polish fitness motivator and an Instagram influencer, whose presence on social media has made her a celebrity. Despite the strong facade she often presents in her daily videos, Sylwia is a lonely and fragile girl who will have to re-evaluate her celebrity status after being ousted online for a tearful video in which she expresses her feelings and having an uncomfortable meeting with a stalker.

The movie follows three days in the life of Sylwia as she tries to overcome this depressing state and find intimacy in her life. She’s an “emotional exhibitionist”, as the director describes her, whose life revolves around her social media activity and how fans perceive her persona. Sylwia keeps looking for comfort from different people, but each one of them seems unable to understand her or her problems; notable is the sequence where the young girl is with her family, they mock and laugh at her job and Sylwia then gets into a fight with her cold and apathetic mother as she was trying to defend her daughter’s stalker. The whole subplot with the stalker overall is quite problematic as at the end of the movie the audience, and Sylwia as well, will feel a little sympathy for the perpetrator.

Sweat is almost entirely shot with a hand-held camera and this approach has mixed results. It works when it has to portray Sylwia at her most vulnerable state or to get the audience inside the vlogging routine of the influencer. But this style grows tiresome throughout the movie and even felt messy in some sequences, such as the one where Sylwia is having a fitness show in a mall.

What makes the movie really worth watching though is the breakthrough performance from Magdalena Koleśnik; she’s terrific in her motivational videos as the actress conveys so much charisma and energy through her movements and interactions, but her work reaches a different level when Koleśnik has to present the various mental states of Sylwia. The polish actress excels in showing a vast range of emotions, that leaps from inner pain, specifically the scene where Sylwia rewatches the infamous video, to a more externalised desperation as in her final breakdown in a television morning show.

All in all, Sweat might not be the most original movie about social media issues neither the best critique over internet-based celebrities and their fandom, but Magdalena Koleśnik’s performance rises above the possible limitations of her character, giving an absolutely stunning and complex turn in what could have been a one-note caricature in the wrong hands.

CANNES 2020: Sweat

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