There have been a handful or maybe more films where a character has a good life or has the potential for a good life when things start to unravel for them. That’s the case with Millie Lies Low. A New Zealand film just came out here in the States.  More often than not it’s a man going through these types of situations. In this movie, it’s a young Kiwi woman who has these issues.

Millie (Ana Scotney), is a young woman who is about to fly to New York City from Wellington, New Zealand when she unexpectedly gets off the plane because of a panic attack. She tries to buy another ticket but does not have enough money. This leads to a whole myriad of events that lead to her having an Instagram photo feud, trying to sell her car, sneaking around at her mother’s house, and stealing a rabbit. She also catches her boyfriend Henry (Chris Alosio) having sex with her best friend Carolyn (Jillian Nguyen).

In these types of films, things start to unravel for the man character, in this case, she steals a scooter helmet, and poncho + keys, overhears her friends talking bad about her, she sells the car but has to wait for 24rs to get the money, things just don’t go very good for her She even tries to outdo her friend on Instagram, This leads to her living in a tent in the woods though, behind her mom’s house. She eventually goes into her mom’s home and sleeps, when she wakes up she gets into an argument with her mom. She steals her boyfriend’s passport so he can’t come to New York to be with her.  

Anxiety/panic attacks can have a big impact on someone’s life. They can make people do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. I have a friend who won’t drive on the highway to get from his home to work so it takes much longer for him to get around using street roads instead of the highway. It’s because of anxiety and panic attacks. One time he called me to come pick him up an hr away because he couldn’t drive. These ailments can be debilitating to someone. Regarding this character, they made her do a bunch of rash things she wouldn’t normally do. That’s the effect they have on a person. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to anxiety and panic attacks. 

The director Michelle Savill with her co-writer Eli Kent didn’t do anything extravagant with this story but they did show the effects these ailments can have on a person. How these things can turn somebody’s life inside out. And make them do and say things that are out of their character. As someone who has had a bout of this in his lifetime and deals with a close friend who is affected by this on a daily basis, I can attest to its hold on one’s mind and body. This can be very difficult to deal with at times. 

This film has a breakout performance from its star Ana Scotney. She had me following her every move. Every word and thing she did was very interesting to me. Her reactions to all of these things that happened to her were so fascinating to me regarding the overall story and plot of the film. She is going to be a young actress to look out for in the future along with the filmmaker and writer Savill. This was a dynamic duo for sure. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Millie Lies Low has a story that deals with an ailment that affects thousands of people on a daily basis. It probably is something someone close to you is affected by. It is for me. Savill and Scotney team up to make a movie a lot of people can relate to. For me, it’s on a level similar to the Martin Scorsese film After Hours. Even though I’m not a fan of that film I feel this one does a similar thing much better. Tying the story to this ailment brings it home much more for me. This is a must see film.

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen