X&Y

In her latest film, Anna Odell (director of the acclaimed The Reunion) conducts a social experiment aimed at studying the concept of identity. What exactly are masculinity and femininity? If we assume that sex is more than an arrangement of chromosomes, since it is culturally conditioned, can it be the subject of interpretation like other social constructs? X&Y is a multilevel structure built at the intersection of artistic practices and film. Instead of a screenplay, there is a film studio; locked inside are actors who, like participants in a reality TV show, must produce the story themselves. Odell uses his own life story to rearrange the layers of fiction into an exhibitionistic spectacle of emotion, desire and manipulation. She is both the researcher and the subject of her own investigation. She hides behind numerous alter egos, deconstructs the persona of the “crazy artist,” exposes the weaknesses of contemporary art and mocks the trappings of liberal society. She leads the participants and viewers to paranoia, making them unsure of what they are taking part in and what they are watching: a record of a failed artistic experiment or a brilliantly written feature. For this reason, X&Y is best viewed as an intellectual thriller.