The Novice

Alex starts university, joins the rowing team, and her aim is simple: to be the best. The problem is not her ability but her decision to continue at any cost. The training hours climb, her hands tear open, her grades fall, her friendships break, and she does not stop. Lauren Hadaway does not build a sports film; the sound design, the repeating stroke and the rhythm of breathing put the audience inside the compulsion. Isabelle Fuhrman carries it physically. Hadaway had worked in sound editing, and that history shows in the film's most defining feature. The ending neither rewards her nor draws a lesson. Who it is for: viewers who like psychological drama about obsession and performance. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by scenes of self-harm.