By

Mainstream

Pixel-popping pulp

A young woman (Maya Hawke, Ethan and Uma’s kid) falls under the sway of a charismatic internet “influencer” (honk if you also find that term repulsive) and belatedly realizes that being “liked” is not worth the decency one must abandon to achieve it. With this tricked-out and gimmicky fever dream of a movie, Gia Coppola (Francis’s granddaughter) attempts to expose the dark side of social media celebrity but fails to sufficiently understand her target. She’s late to the party and falls into the rookie trap of ending up being the very thing she’s trying to satirize. For all its posturing of being in the know, it’s annoyingly self-satisfied and way out of touch.

If there was such a thing, Andrew Garfield, playing the tacky above-mentioned media messiah, deserves an Oscar nom for Most Scenery Chewed. But to be fair, he gets credit for commitment, however misguided, to a poorly defined yet immensely physically demanding role. (94 min)