Nordic Watchlist shares their review of Fanny Oveson’s Live A Little from Glasgow Film Festival
Fanny Oveson’s Live A Little enters the well‑trodden terrain of coming‑of‑age travel stories, but it quickly becomes clear that this is not just another sun‑drenched tale of youthful freedom. Instead, the film uses the familiar backdrop of inter‑railing adventures to probe far more complicated emotional territory, examining how exhilaration and vulnerability can coexist in the same breath. What begins as a carefree rite of passage for two friends gradually unravels into a tense exploration of memory, consent and the fragile boundaries of self‑discovery.
The film centres around two friends, Laura (Embla Ingelman-Sundberg) and Alex (Aviva Wrede), who decide to go inter-railing around Europe before settling back down to the serious business of studying and boyfriends. Their accommodation plans fall through at their first stop, setting them off on a series of couch surfing, raves and eclectic friendship groups. One night, the pair end up heading home at separate times, with Laura waking to realise that she has had sex with fellow backpacker, Lucas (Oscar Lesage). With her memories fragmented and her relationship with her boyfriend on the line, one question pervades all: Was it consensual?
Live A Little marks the feature-length debut of writer/director Fanny Oveson, and it’s fair to say that she captures the spirit of the post-school holiday that many teenagers experience. Prague, bathed in sunrise, is a perfect palette of pastels. You can almost feel the 4pm sun brush your shoulders; the joy of laughing and partying with new friends; the heady experience of exploring a new culture. But Oveson also explores a darker side: the sticky, sweaty reckoning of a hangover. The anxiety, shame and guilt that accompanies sexual assault. It’s a tricky line to tread, tonally, but Oveson seems to strike the balance right.
The lead performances are excellent, too. Aviva Wrede’s Alex is the more free-spirited when we first meet the pair. She chats up guys in the street, she’s ready to party, she wants to really experience life. Wrede infuses her with a spontaneity that feels equal parts thrilling and dangerous. She believes Sweden is too perfect and, therefore, boring, romanticising rundown buildings and back-alley flea markets.
Embla Ingelman-Sundberg’s Laura is established as the more sensible, practical element of the friendship. She carries a first aid kit, hangs back from new acquaintances and really just wants to get home to her boyfriend, Elias (Odin Romanus) so they can move in together. Ingelman-Sundberg’s stiff physicality and constant tucking of her hair contrasts neatly with Wrede’s open gesticulation and curiosity.
What really works within the film is the lack of knowledge, for us as viewers as well as the characters. We see conflicting flashbacks – ones in which Laura knows what she is consenting to and, in fact, enjoys having sex with Lukas and ones in which she is completely blacked out and lifeless. Is Laura trying to convince herself she can be as carefree as Alex or is she putting on a brave face to cancel out an entirely traumatic experience?
Poignantly, Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby floats in and out of the film’s soundtrack. For Laura, every new experience and every new interaction is now framed through a new lens. She questions every comment; every look. Where she was once so cautious and precise, she is now spiralling out of control, actively seeking out dangerous situations. Ingelman-Sundberg’s performance runs the full gamut of human emotions, here, as she snaps, “I want to have fun. Leave me alone – I’m not a fucking rape victim.”
Alex, too, has a bad experience with a fellow traveller who insists on rough sex and whom she labels “porn damaged”. In some ways, it is reminiscent of Molly Manning-Walker’s How to Have Sex, an equally brilliant film that highlights the issue of consent.
Live A Little ultimately succeeds because it refuses to offer easy answers. Oveson allows the uncertainty to linger, trusting the audience to sit with the discomfort rather than resolve it. The result is a film that captures both the intoxicating openness of youth and the moments that can fracture it forever. Anchored by two compelling performances and a director unafraid to confront the grey areas of consent, it’s a debut that invites viewers to reflect on the stories we tell ourselves – and the ones we try to forget.
Live a Little will screen at Glasgow Film Festival – look out for our interview with director Fanny Oveson.
“Live A Little ultimately succeeds because it refuses to offer easy answers. Oveson allows the uncertainty to linger, trusting the audience to sit with the discomfort rather than resolve it“
Live A Little is screening at Glasgow Film Festival – any further news of a UK or USA release we will keep you posted on.