Something Very Good Is Going To Happen to Camila Morrone's Career 

I love Adam DiMarco. I have been a fan of his ever since he debuted in Radio Rebel, "G's for Life," (iykyk) and I followed his quiet career trajectory from White Lotus to Overcompensating. So, when Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen came out and I saw he was in it, I was like, bet, I am down.

But then Camila Morrone stumbled on screen as this beacon of bright white light, and I was shooketh.

You know when you witness someone on screen and immediately are like, this person is a star? I had that moment with Florence Pugh when I first saw her in Little Women and then Midsommar. Five minutes into her performance, and I was like, yeah, this girl knows how to act. That's how I felt watching Camila Morrone. She completely and entirely disappeared into her character. I was entranced. Whether or not the show was all that good, I was locked in.

The story starts with our main lovestruck couple, Rachel (Camila Morrone) and Nicky (Adam DiMarco), who are taking a road trip to Nicky's family house out in the middle of nowhere for their wedding. Right off the bat, the show exposits just how much in love the two of them are and the fact that Rachel has had a traumatic past. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father's an agoraphobic person who she doesn't talk to anymore. Nicky comes from a rich family who's never met Rachel because of an ominous event that kept her from flying out to see them last year. Also she's terrified of flying.

All of these tidbits were force-fed to us in the most unnatural conversation that I've seen in a while, at rest-stops on their journey, over some breakfast. Yet, somehow, Morrone managed to deliver her lines in a way that kept the dialogue, as clunky as it was, from feeling unforgiveably obnoxious. Her facial expressions combatted the overload of exposition in a way that helped build more tension. So when she very explicitly spelled out she was estranged from her family or that she loved Nicky, it felt simultaneously sincere and ominous. Which, I think marks a genuine skill in her acting ability. Those scenes could have easily fallen flat, but the way that she delivered those lines actually added intrigue to the moment. Just by the mere twist of her lips, or the lilt in some of her lines, I cued into something deeper happening in the background. I could sense a growing doubt emanating from her as she spoke with her beau about kids and marriage.

Just like she foreshadowed, the show quickly descends into madness. At Nicky's house, Rachel's feelings of dread become harder and harder to ignore. Nicky's family ends up being way weirder than you'd expect, and the suffocating reality of what her potential marriage entails becomes harder to ignore.

One scene in particular that stands out is when Nicky's mom, sister, and sister-in-law, dress Rachel in the mom's old wedding dress. This scene is stressful on its own, but the way that Morrone balances grief, fear, and love is phenomenal. You can see in her face that she doesn't want to be there in the moment but doesn't know how to say it. Her mother-in-law pressures her to put on the dress and the sister immediately starts altering it to fit Rachel better; Rachel, in the meanwhile, stands there, not really saying much at all. As her new family redresses her in all of their belongings, the tension is palpable, painted clearly behind Morrone's eyes. This expression, the way that she tightens her lips, where she looks, the barely suppressed discomfort that she tries to hide out of politeness, all works so well to help build the tension in that moment.

The plot and the script may not have done her any favours, but Morrone held on by the sheer power of performance. Her acting added nuance to her character, allowing Rachel to feel more than just an archetype (the sacrificial, pure female bride). Instead, through simple facial expressions, we get a glimpse into the way she grieves her mother, the anxiety she has at getting married, and the feeling of losing her identity to her new family.

After the third episode, the show lost momentum as a whole, but Morrone's dedication to her character added complexity to her storyline enough to make me want to finish the show. Although the beginning two episodes were phenomenal and scary as hell, the last few tumbled downhill. It felt as though whatever was built up initially was disregarded at the end– like the whole thing about the Sorry Man? It just ended up being this random thread that had nothing really to do with anything. The whole creepy rich family? In the end, we get nothing other than the fact that everything in the beginning was a whole misunderstanding. But Morrone stays consistent with what she brings to the screen, so that even when the plot flops bellyside up, her performance bridges the gaps, making it easier to suspend our disbelief.

I had qualms with that final plot twist (don't worry, I won't spoil it for you here). The show doubles down on its cliches and tropes, and all the characters fulfill one archetype or another, but there is nothing new or plot-twisty enough for me to validate watching the show all the way until the end. That is, except for Morrone's performance. Even until the very end. She makes the flat, boring moments, so much more fun and engaging to watch. There is an authenticity to the way that she plays her character that feels refreshing. The end plot-twist, although fun, becomes so much more entertaining because it is clear that Rachel believes it. So even though the plot gets more and more unhinged and harder to believe, Morrone makes it feel believable.

That is honestly all that you need from a show, sometimes. So go check out Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen and tell me your thoughts on the ending.

Also, if this doesn't open up more roles for Morrone, I'm going to be sorely disappointed. I think she needs one more role in a more serious movie before her career will take off like Florence Pugh's or even Saoirse Ronan's.