Binge ∞ Purge

Binge ∞ Purge offers us an insight into the life of a woman who suffers from bulimia. We get to witness what exactly triggers her and some backstory into what may cause anybody to potentially go down the path. It’s not an easy watch if you are eating food — I had pizza while watching it and I had to stop. It’s an interesting take on the eating disorder because of the way it’s shot and how we get to witness the events unfold thanks to some clever video and sound editing.

Now, what I really loved the most about this film, is how natural the performances felt from the actresses presented. It seems like a lot of the shots were done in one take and the only time we would cut is to witness the destruction of the main character through her unhealthy habits; which was quite effective. Because these were longer takes, it allowed (and almost forces) the actresses to really “go with the flow” and make it natural as possible. That’s hard to do because with videos nowadays, you can do take, after take, after take, and edit around each take to really “polish” the performances of the actors or actresses, but it seems the filmmakers went a different route and said, “we only have a limited amount of time to do this. Let’s make it count.” And they did. The genre of filmmaking this reminds me a lot of is Mumblecore — and independent film movement that is extremely low budget (such as Binge ∞ Purge) and longer takes with the actors and actresses saying their lines and improvising to make it feel more natural than scripted; which really feels like a move in this movie. It’s super underrated filmmaking that can really pull off some neat and believable performances.

The way this movie is shot is extremely interesting too, besides the long takes. We only ever see females in this. We hear males, but not once are they ever on screen. And what I get out of this is we are forced to witness the persecution, the guilt, and the downfall of these women from their perspective. And for the most part, it’s quite effective. In a way, we have to reconcile and really understand these characters and why they do what they do. I think it was a bold and ambitious creative decision on behalf of the director to attempt this and ultimately, I think it paid off. When you take risks, you sometimes get rewards.

Another thing I appreciated about this is how it gave these characters a lot of depth and a lot of empathy. The backstory is a little (and I mean extremely) disturbing and is quite eye-opening to the whole situation. Basically it shows us we can’t be quick to judge without getting to know somebody. Assumptions only separates us. And we get that a lot through the friend the main character meets.

Overall this film shines a lot of light on a serious issue that gets overlooked. It gets more interesting when you really consider how many people you know or pass on the street who might be harming themselves with this disorder or who suffer from other causes. The fact this was done for a budget under $100 makes these little considerations and issues even more impressive. Definitely check this out if you like pure independent flicks.