Trigger Warning: Eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
Nathan Hertz’s theatrical debut film, Thinestra, which stars identical twins Melissa and Michelle Macedo, gives a disturbing yet honest look at disordered eating. The film follows Penny, a photo retoucher who works in Los Angeles. She has struggled with her weight her entire life. When she’s offered a miracle pill called Thinestra, she feels like she’s found the miracle to solve her problems.
Thinestra promises to melt the fat away, and it literally does. When Penny takes the first pill, she sheds fat in a sequence that some may find a little stomach-churning. It’s frightening for Penny, but when she wakes the next morning and realizes she’s lost 13 pounds, she immediately develops a newfound sense of confidence. She’s more vocal at work, she’s rocking those clothes we all have in the back of our closet for when we reach that “goal weight,” and she’s feeling brave enough to let her next-door neighbor and crush, Josh (Gavin Stenhouse), know she likes him too.
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For Penny, things are finally looking up. But as most things go, when something is too good to be true, it usually is. And that is indeed the case with Thinestra. What Penny doesn’t know about the miracle weight loss drug is that it birthed a doppelgänger who goes by the name Penelope. And she has an insatiable need to eat everything in sight. And that includes people. This is where the film gets a little tricky to follow. The premise makes perfect sense. And so does the appearance of the doppelgänger, until it doesn’t.
As I watched the film, I expected the doppelgänger to be a presence in Penny’s life. But it just went around wreaking havoc in the city. Penny would wake up in random places covered in food and blood. That led me to believe it was her committing the acts of violence. And there was no doppelgänger. Considering the weird dream sequences, which I felt were unnecessary, it just seemed like a figment of her imagination and a crazy side effect.
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Despite my confusion with this aspect of the story, the message was received loudly and clearly. Penelope represented the shame that Penny felt around food. She felt judged for every bite of food she would take. There was a repression in that because Penny would be surrounded by food, from the craft services at work to the holiday party. She was overwhelmed by her cravings and was trying to keep them pushed down. Once Penelope was set free, it unleashed that hunger further. That was a perfect representation of what binge eating looks like.
Penny was losing weight, but despite this, she was still quite miserable. That was because, as her mother (Norma Maldonado) pointed out, hurt and trauma don’t just go away because you lose weight. That’s a psychological hurdle to get over. And it was obvious that Penny had a lot to overcome. Listening to her tell her mother how much she hated her body and all the people out there telling her she can love herself was hard. As someone who has struggled with their weight as well, this scene was so raw, and Michelle’s delivery was authentic.
In addition to Michelle’s performance, I also must give props to Melissa. Both did a great job, and I couldn’t always tell which twin was in what scene because the transitions were seamless. Though you may find Thinestra to be a disturbing film, it does an outstanding job of portraying the very real issue of body dysmorphia. If you can manage to stomach the body horror of it all, which surprisingly isn’t as bad as you would think, and appreciate the message of the film, Thinestra is worth watching.
Thinestra screened at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival.
