Chained for Life

Aaron Schimberg's impressive second feature is his response, as a filmmaker with facial deformity, to cinematic portrayals of disfigured people, from 'Freaks' to 'The Elephant Man'. Simultaneously empathetic and sardonic, 'Chained for Life's' multi-layered meta narrative casts Jess Weixler ('Teeth') as Mabel, a well- intentioned Hollywood star. She takes the role of a blind woman in a hospital- based horror movie about abnormalities, directed by an egomaniacal German auteur. As shooting progresses, Mabel gradually falls for friendly British co-star Rosenthal, played by Adam Pearson ('Under the Skin'), who has neurofibromatosis. Writer-director Schimberg challenges you to think about representation and exploitation whilst refusing to offer up any simplistic answers, while also paying homage to previous film-within-a-film-practitioners from Fassbinder to the Muppets.