A low-budget German reality drama? Hand-held camera? Social issues including abortion, prostitution, binge drinking, and sexual harassment? It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Michael Hofmann pulls it off. In a sense, he does it by the book, strictly adhering to the Aristotelian commandments of unity of action (Sophie's pub crawl), time (one night), and place (Hamburg). But more importantly, he wrote the script with Katharina Schüttler as Sophie in mind, and gets her to go all the way from coy seductress and precocious slacker to downright lost soul, suffering multiple breakdowns along the way. "Sophiiiie!" is a one-woman show, and Katharina Schüttler's shattering performance makes it believable and appealing. She displays a wide range of personality traits and mental states without making Sophie a showcase of her acting abilities. Thanks to her talent and courage, the idea of compressing her character's inner life into the encounters and emotions of a single night doesn't feel forced at all. It's hard on the audience though. Apart from minor acts of kindness by random strangers, life is dealing Sophie pretty shitty cards.
Review of Sophiiiie!
