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“Zoe.Misplaced” portrays a complex lesbian love triangle

One unwritten rule everyone knows: You’re not supposed to date your best friend’s ex. But come on, the lesbian community is so small that there’s bound to be some overlap. It’s that overlap that the Australian film Zoe.Misplaced explores.

Meet Zoe (Hannah Raven Smith), the Debbie Downer of lesbians. Zoe, meet your best friend/flatmate Coal’s (Kaska Zielinski) ex-girlfriend, Nat (Clementine Mills). Now let the drama begin.

But first, some background. Zoe is your typical 20-something student. She’s been best pals with Coal for two years. All is as it usually is, until Nat shows up again and starts a no strings attached relationship with Coal. As ill-advised as Zoe thinks this is, she’s supportive. What’s more, she even enjoys having Nat around. So much so that she totally misses the red flags around her, agreeing to hang out with Nat alone while Coal is away at a hockey convention.

Hold on — they don’t jump each other as soon as she’s gone. No, first there’s some teasing and warnings from Zoe’s friends and, of course, daydreams of kissing Nat. But when the sexual tension becomes too much for them (and me), bam! We get to witness some disjointed sex accompanied by an interesting soundtrack.

If only it were just sex—that would be less complicated. Instead, there are feelings here, including major guilt over how Coal’s going to take the news. Turns out she doesn’t take it well, and Zoe’s suddenly out a flat and a best friend.

It’s at this point that we get to see what feels like a double feature. At almost two hours in length, I guess we have time for one!

Now that Zoe and Nat are Zoe and Nat, how’s that going to work? How do you get a relationship going when neither one of you know much about the other? Especially if honesty is an issue…

And here’s the thing about whirlwind romances: It’s so easy to get yourself completely caught up in them and to lose your sense of self, and the people around you as a result. Heavy shit, isn’t it? That’s part two for you.

That’s not to say the film isn’t enjoyable overall, just that it suffers from biting off more than it can chew. There are several other interesting choices, likely due to the movie’s budget of less than $7,800. It’s definitely got a diamond in the rough quality to it, with some shoddy camera work and over-the-top music that borders on cheesy. But ultimately a good script and cast make all the difference, and Zoe.Misplaced is indeed an intriguing watch.

You can rent Zoe.Misplaced in VHX by visiting the movie’s website.

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