“Saccharine” is a psychological body horror film starring Midori Francis (“Ocean’s 8”) as Hana, an insecure, overweight first-year medical student suffering from a binge eating disorder. The film opens with an audiovisual statement: squelching and gut-churning chewing of Hana’s mouth as she devours a smorgasbord of junk food in reverse, cross-cut with a fit woman riding an exercise bike, glistening with sweat. The scene ends with Hana throwing donuts in the trash and covering them in dish soap, side-by-side with a scene of her ogling the woman — later revealed to be Alanya (Madeleine Madden, “The Wheel of Time”), a fellow student, fitness coach and crush. Hana consumes and lusts without restraint, bewitched by the desire to satisfy her cravings and to be with Alanya. Themes of self-hatred, abandonment and envy usher in the first act of “Saccharine.”
When Hana, along with her best friend Josie (Danielle Macdonald, “Bird Box”), are assigned to an obese female corpse in the cadaver lab, whom they callously refer to as “Big Bertha,” she is undoubtedly perturbed by their similar size and nail polish, so much so she scrubs the polish off her nails before joining her friends at a bar. Here, Hana encounters an old friend from high school who shares a weight loss secret with her: $5,000 pills that make the weight “melt” right off. She calls them “The Grey” and gives Hana two capsules. Astonished by their fast results but repelled by their price, Hana investigates the pill’s properties at her school lab in hopes of being able to replicate it — only to find they share definite similarities with human ash. Hana, being the smart, ethical and resourceful young woman she is, harvests and cremates her cadaver’s bones.
As the number on the scale drops lower and lower and Hana’s confidence grows, so does her fear. Big Bertha, as it turns out, won’t let Hana use her ashes for free. The more food Hana eats, the more she loses weight, the more Big Bertha’s spirit grows, the hungrier Bertha becomes. Bertha’s control over Hana is a clear allegory of the possession that is mental illness and disordered eating — a metaphor even less subtle than Francis’s prosthetic fat suit. Later in the film, we learn more about Bertha’s past and are madeto feel sorry for her. She is characterized as selfless and endlessly giving, yet unable to care for herself in her self-loathing. Themes of self-love and self-acceptance are pushed here but get lost in the confused mess of the film. Hana’s empathy for Bertha’s struggles suggests the film is heading toward the redemption of Bertha’s spirit and an emphasis on self-compassion, but “Saccharine” fails to take its own cues and opts for indulgent horror.
Any scene that diverts our attention from the body and paranormal horror of “Saccharine” and detours toward melodrama feels unearned, building from and to nothing of significance. Hana tells Bertha’s sister (Daniela Rene Fink, “Falling for Her Bodyguard”) that “You can’t love someone into getting better.” It is a trite moment that feels grossly out of place, a sentiment that is abandoned abruptly and revisited only peripherally.
Director Natalie Erika James (“Relic”) attempts to explore the psychological effects of disordered eating by addressing Hana’s relationship with her morbidly obese father (Robert Taylor, “Longmire”) and health-conscious Japanese mother (Showko Showfukutei, debut) — flat characters who are largely left unused beyond providing context and propelling the plot without independent depth. “Saccharine” also briefly touches on the toxic internet culture surrounding dieting and thinness, a topic James picks up and puts down with flighty direction.
James attempts to capture the raw, uncensored reality of compulsive eating with some success, although the routine of Hana appeasing her appetite is drawn out with exhaustive repetition. In one graphic scene, Hana performs surgery on herself in a gigantic dumpster. This is meant to serve as the climax, yet it yields no true catharsis or character growth, having no purpose beyond crowning “Saccharine” with its gruelling, nauseating and extremely prolonged headpiece as a body horror film. The subject matter of “Saccharine” is both admirable and topical, dressed in stylish editing techniques, respectable performances and impressive sound design, but the film fails to resonate with the import it deserves.
“Saccharine” is a five-course meal that goes on for far too long, leaving its patrons with nothing more than a stomach full of air. Substance is secondary to style and shock in “Saccharine” — a dish that goes cold long before it is served.
Daily Arts Writer Maya Ruder can be reached at mayarud@umich.edu.
