Credit: Todd Martin

What is it: A character study of a relentless student athlete who joins her collegiate rowing team and proceeds to grind everything into bloody-palmed pulp in pursuit of perfection.

Perfect for: Hard-headed grinders who appreciate austere beauty even when the artistic subject itself is ugly.

First-year student Alex (Isabelle Fuhrman) joins her college’s rowing program, determined not only to make the team but also to ascend to the #1 boat. Driven by the unrelenting work ethic that has won her entrance into the world of elite private education, she charts a collision course with a roster full of recruited athletes as well as another better-liked novice rower, Jamie (Amy Forsyth). Alex ultimately finds herself in a situation where hard data is insufficient when put up against the opinions and assumptions of those around her.

The film similarly challenges the viewer: with self-destruction rampant, are we to understand its ending as a confirmation of Alex’s unhealthy levels of personal drive… or something else altogether? Will she embrace change or stay the same? For our money, we viewed this as a dark hero’s journey, with an endpoint in territory separate and distinct from the trial itself.

Debut writer-director Lauren Hadaway evokes a superb backdrop using intense camera focus, gloomy environments, and thought-provoking hallucinative elements to frame the captivating portrait she has devised for her audience.

Extremely deserving of its Tribeca Film Festival hardware, The Novice is evocative of Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull and fully worthy of its kinship. This film is an event filled with performances of the highest caliber.