Tribeca Review: Sophia Takal’s Act One Feels Like a Lucid Nightmare

Following up her reframed remake of Black Christmas, Sophia Takal’s Act One, is a polarizing work taking place in the shadows of Anytown, USA (though largely filmed in and near Takal’s hometown of Montclair, NJ). Set in the era of AOL Instant Messenger—before social media and influencers polluted the minds of teens—Act One is a psychosexual thriller with the spirit of 1980s films about suburban danger. Shooting in the confining Academy ratio of 1.37:1, the camera often slowly pushes in on idyllic scenes of domestic life on the verge of crumbling. The film feels like the kind of lucid nightmare that its villain, Melanie (Ari Graynor), would want budding actors to explore as part of their character work. For the easily impressionable Hannah (a perfectly cast Ella Beatty), that danger is part of the craft; she believes her willingness to cross healthy boundaries is a sign of growth.

In an undefined town (albeit one with New Jersey license plates), Melanie is something of a legend—at least in her own mind—making and breaking great talent. When Hannah finds herself at a crossroads after being shut out of her high school production of Rumors, she seeks Melanie out. Hannah is initially berated by her mother, Julie (Elizabeth Reaser), for refusing to get contacts and wearing somewhat awkward glasses. Though Beatty is in her mid-20s, she convincingly passes for a high school senior on the verge of 18, possessing the kind of emotional intelligence that makes others—including her classmate Henry (Nate Mann) and Melanie—forget she’s still a kid.

Seeing Hannah as a blank slate, Melanie essentially grooms her, telling her that the job of an artist is to “heal people” and promising to make her a great performer if she can commit. Hannah buys it hook, line, and sinker. At first she is willing to participate in evening classes before auditioning with Henry for an “advanced” class that is effectively a cult for those willing to fully buy in. This class requires being available at all hours; soon, Hannah is sneaking out in the middle of the night to rehearse at the studio or attend private sessions at Melanie’s house. One session ultimately crosses the line, leading to the kind of psychological damage often associated with online content moderators—the requirement to internalize and project “big emotions” proves equally damaging to a teenager thrust into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Julie, distracted by the antics of her husband (Robert Sean Leonard), takes her eye off Hannah and is eventually shocked to find that Melanie has become a surrogate mother, even taking Hannah to get birth control and contact lenses.

Framed as a thriller, Act One is a riveting film reminiscent of Josephine Decker’s Madeline’s Madeline, which also explored a young woman processing identities she doesn’t quite understand. Both deal with control on and off stage, but whereas Helena Howard’s Madeline is encouraged to draw a line between performance and reality, Hannah is encouraged to blur that line to find depth in her subconscious, going places most would not for the sake of “art.”

Takal, an actress embedded within the world of genre-blurring cinema, creates a fascinating film that feels like a terrifying dream—it grows gradually darker as it explores the inner workings of a cult that demands silence and rigorous discipline. While some send up warning flares along the way, Melanie has figured out exactly how to navigate legal boundaries while crossing ethical ones. Much of this feels grounded in a specific era; Takal, an elder millennial, sets her film in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a time when the Internet began to connect the world, before the dawn of smartphones. Act One nails the time, place, and anxieties of that period with searing honesty.

The film knows exactly what it’s doing as it captures the liberation and subsequent unraveling of Hannah. Like Melanie, Act One is unafraid of cruel truths, recalling other dark stories of manipulation (one recent example being Craig Zobel’s Compliance). While the plot might seem far-fetched to some and the conclusion a bit underwhelming, this is a universal true-crime story of a mentor crossing the line, all while adopting the visual and editorial grammar of a “stranger danger” TV movie. Act One is ultimately a fascinating character study, and while some scenes seem a bit rushed by the structure, the film succeeds largely off powerhouse performances by Beatty and Graynor.

Act One premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.