PARACHUTE -- Brittany Snow’s Directorial Debut Is Tender, Romantic, and Powerful

Review by Cole Groth

Brittany Snow’s led a great, varied career as an actress, and as the latest actor-turned-director, she’s proved to be amazingly capable of directing. In Parachute, her debut feature, she carefully and confidently navigates the struggle of having an eating disorder. With a compelling script and good technical style, Snow masterfully weaves a dramatic story with the help of perfect performances from its stars.

Parachute navigates the hard-to-talk-about world of eating disorders. Snow’s script, penned alongside Becca Gleason, tells the story of Riley (Courtney Eaton), a woman recently discharged from rehab for her struggles with an eating disorder. Once out, she meets Ethan (Thomas Mann), a charming young man with whom she instantly finds a connection. Throughout the film, the two grow together on a romantic journey of self-discovery for Riley.
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It’s incredibly important that films about eating disorders handle them with grace and carefulness, which Snow is fully able to do. Snow and Gleason’s script is an amazing drama because it never feels overbearing, even when the circumstances of the story are overbearing for the characters. It’s dramatic without being overly so, incredibly romantic and charming. Snow struggled with an eating disorder in the past and uses her past experiences to subtly fill in the horrors of going through one. It’s painful to watch but important.

Beyond the tender way Parachute’s script handles addiction and eating disorders, it also excels with its dialogue. It’s little things like Riley referring to her eating disorder as an “eating thing” that sound like they were written from the perspective of somebody who understands what having an eating disorder is like. It’s authentic and never once degrading. Each conversation between Riley and Ethan sounds natural and up-to-date, with modern lingo that does not sound like it’s trying too hard to be relatable. It’s a romantic, funny, and dramatic script that perfectly handles each subgenre.

With a terrific story and great dialogue, the last thing this film needed to succeed was a good pair of actors with chemistry. Courtney Eaton and Thomas Mann are that pair. The two feel like a real couple, burdened with the trauma of their pasts and moving together like two perfectly intertwined souls. They’re joined by a terrific supporting cast of Gina Rodriguez, Kid Cudi, Francesa Reale, Dave Bautista, and Joel McHale. In a cast where the two leads are already such knockouts, it’s nice to see the supporting cast pull their weight just as well.

Dramas about sensitive subjects like eating disorders can often struggle with feeling too intense or boring, something that Brittany Snow can handle very well in Parachute. Her first directorial effort is a compelling watch on all fronts, showcasing the best of everybody involved. It’s clear that Snow has a bright future in writing and directing and that Courtney Eaton is an up-and-coming star. By all accounts, this is worthy of a watch.
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Parachute is now in theater.
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Rating: 4/5