By Becca Johnson - November 11, 2024
Hippo, a darkly comedic genre-defying coming-of-age tale, is the directorial feature debut of filmmaker Mark H. Rapaport. The titular peculiar adolescent (Kimball Farley), alongside his step-sister Buttercup (Lilia Kizlinger), struggles to come of age in late 1990’s America, under the roof of a mother who has been institutionalized at least once. Like the Ancient Greek Aphrodite, Buttercup’s love is unrequited by a brother who prefers to indulge in the art of war and chaos. Cuttingly dark yet awkwardly hilarious, Hippo is a beautifully shot, perfectly acted whirlwind of stark ideas that come together surprisingly well, whilst putting an intriguing new filmmaker on the map.
The first element viewers will notice when hitting play on Hippo is the cinematography from William Babcock. Delivered purely in black and white, the aesthetic of the film lets us know early on that we’re not in for a regular coming-of-age affair. Each shot is meticulously crafted, with beautiful framing and flawless use of shadows that compliments the tone and the themes of the movie so well. Many scenes have something to look at in both the foreground and the background, making for a visually engaging viewing experience.
One scene in particular, featuring a fire in the background and lightning in the sky, is one of the most aesthetically stunning sequences of 2024 thus far. The movie takes place in a single location, the home of the family, but the cinematography is exciting enough for this not to matter. The entire space is utilised to its fullest potential, from the yard outside to the kitchen table during dinner sequences. The shots linger, the black-and-white is mesmerising and the score combines the technical aspects together to create a quirkily cool concoction.
Hippo may be a coming-of-age story at heart, but the themes and ideas explored aren’t exactly… common. 17-year-old Buttercup is an individual desperate to have a child, despite not knowing quite how to create one. Herself and her step-brother Hippo believe that laying in bed next to someone of the opposite gender naked, and letting your ‘essences mingle’ is enough to get the job done, though Hippo refuses Buttercup’s advances and desires due to their sibling bond. This leads Buttercup straight to Craigslist, in pursuit of a man to help her complete her task. Bringing viewers to the most uncomfortably awkward yet hilarious scenes of the movie, featuring a dinner hosted at Buttercup and Hippo’s house with their mother and Craigslist user Darwin, who spends much of his run-time convincing us he isn’t a paedophile.
Hippo himself, who the films own title is based on due to his proclivity for masturbating against his stuffed toy hippopotamus, is a macabre individual with a very straight-to-the-point way of communicating. His love of video games, telling people exactly what he thinks of them and improving his bone density suit his character well - an individual who doesn’t get out much, and believes he knows all there is to know about sex. Paedophilia, teen pregnancy, sex and incest are just a few of the taboo topics that Hippo explores within its odd yet captivating script, and as kooky as it sounds, it undeniably works.
Bringing these oddball characters to life are a particularly talented cast, lead by Kimball Farley as the titular character Hippo. Farley is an inspiration, delivering his darkly comedic quips and matter-of-fact dialogue with an admirably stoic nature. Never once breaking character and completely convincing us of Hippo’s dark interior, Farley proves he is an actor worth keeping an eye on. Starring opposite as his Hungarian immigrant step-sister is Lilla Kizlinger (Explanation for Everything), who is a perfect match for talent alongside Farley. A naïve yet endearing individual due to her way of looking at the world, Kizlinger is always entirely believable and is so easy to root for, despite her unnatural lust for pregnancy and her willingness to let strange men into her home. Due to her Hungarian heritage and lack of blood relation to the family she is living with, Buttercup is comfortable yet often feels isolated, and Kizlinger has the ability to show this with just facial expression alone. Their strange yet loving-in-her-own-way mother Ethel is played by Eliza Roberts (Animal House), who eats up every ounce of her minimal screen-time. Questionable parenting and a fair amount of drinking make up the bulk of her character, and Roberts does it well. The exponentially creepy yet hilarious Craigslist sex-advertiser Darwin is expertly played by Jesse Pimentel, who is given no easy task at bringing to life someone who both makes you laugh and cringe simultaneously but does a fab job nonetheless. The icing on the cake in terms of casting is Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), who plays such a huge part of this story despite only providing his voice. Narrating each and every scene as it plays out in front of us, with vital character background information and the majority of the hilariously dark humour, Roberts is excellent.
Above all else, what makes Hippo so impressive is its refusal to fit into a box. It is first and foremost a comedy, though the style of laughs it provides wont be for all. The scripts playful quips surrounding murder, sex and parenting seem jarring at first, but the further the run-time progresses, the more you’re able to settle into its weirdness and feel comfortable enough to laugh out loud at its deranged themes, characters and the decisions that they make. The cutting, straight-to-the-point dialogue is awkwardly funny in such an effective way, creating perhaps one of the years most darkly comedic flicks. Even though it does so in an unconventional way, Hippo is a coming-of-age story delving into the technology-lacking 1990’s America, and has many moments of sincerity and seriousness that also bring it into the drama bracket.
Though never becoming a fully fledged horror movie, it does have some frightening imagery and wholly intense themes, particularly during the third act, that may just manage to send a shiver down your spine. A bow and arrow, poison, grave digging and a creepy mask are just a handful of what Hippo provides once the plot progresses, and paired with the black and white cinematography and weird tone, it can feel quite eerie. Tying everything together is an underlying fantastical element that's present in every aspect - the characters, location, cinematography and plot. Despite looking into very real topics, there’s something about Hippo that feels off, almost unreal.
As can be assumed from the above, Hippo won’t be for everyone. Every element, from the filmmaking choices to the taboo topics discussed, not only set this apart from the rest of the coming-of-age genre but hammer home that it isn’t a mainstream story. For those that enjoy the quirkier, darker side of cinema, there’s plenty in here to love. The performances are excellent, particularly from leads Farley and Kizlinger, the cinematography is astoundingly beautiful, the classical score is a treat for the ears and the dialogue is deliciously dark and hard to forget. If director Rapaport continues in this fashion, we could have a particularly fascinating auteur on our hands. He has something to say, and he says it in an intriguing, engaging and jaw-dropping way.
Hippo is out now in select cinemas.
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