First Blush is the first full length feature from writer-director Victor Neumark, starring Rachel Alig, Ryan Caraway, and Kate Beecroft. Independently made–clearly with lots of love–this film is a unique take on the modern love story. The cinematography is intimate and warm and the cast is kept to a minimum, which helps viewers really focus on and connect with the main characters.
First Blush is, at surface level, a romantic movie. Though instead of portraying a relationship as we often see it, this one follows the story of an adequately happy married couple who decides to bring another person into their relationship. Now, most people would stop there and assume this is a movie about polyamory, and in a way, it is, but, diving deeper, its true message is about bravery.
Let me explain. Without spoiling too much, Nena (Rachel Alig) has recently turned 30 and is starting to re-assess the choices she’s made in her life up to this point. She’s hit all the marks you’re “supposed” to hit in your 20’s according to society, such as getting married, starting your career and having a home. And while that may be the roadmap to success for some, it’s not the most fulfilling one for her. Prompted by a conversation with a stranger named Olivia (Kate Beecroft), Nena begins questioning her own happiness. After a few encounters with the free-spirited Olivia, Nena truly begins to open up and have some honest, albeit hard, conversations with her husband, Drew (Ryan Caraway), about her wants and needs and what that looks like within their current marriage. During this exchange, we begin to see the dynamics of their relationship; Nena is clearly a more dominant force who is often limited by her own need to control everything in her life, while Drew is much more go-with-the-flow—to such a point that he won’t speak his truth if he thinks it will cause any kind of turbulence. These human flaws are what make these characters so relatable and the honest performance by each actor solidifies the audience’s connection to them.
Bravery, to me, is when you make the hard choice, because you know it is the right one for you, despite not truly knowing if the outcome will be in your benefit or will ruin everything you’ve worked so hard to create. And that’s exactly what these three characters struggle with throughout First Blush. At what point do you draw the line and say “maybe this isn’t working” or concede to choose your partner(s) happiness over yours? There is no right answer of course, this is incredibly subjective to the individual relationship. But it is something we get to see play out on screen, and despite what form your own relationship takes, the ups and downs of the relationship between Nena, Drew, and Olivia are universally understood and entirely relatable.
Rachel Alig’s performance specifically stands out, because she brings forth the character of Nena with such realistic authenticity. Nena is, like most of us, flawed. She has some amazing qualities within her, but at different times we see her need for control cause her to get in her own way, and her jealousy and unsureness of her own decisions creep its way into her relationships. It’s during these moments that she is forced to decide whether or not to pursue the uncertain path or to choose to maintain a life that is moderately fulfilling, but will always be clouded by “what if?”. And if that isn’t relatable AF, I don’t know what is.
I highly recommend checking out this indie treasure, as it will challenge you to question your individual happiness and fulfillment, not necessarily in the context of a relationship, but in relation to yourself. If you want more insight into how the cast and director feel about these characters, make sure to check out our upcoming Q&A interview with them!
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