A beauty influencer living in Los Angeles gradually loses her grip on reality.
From writer-director Matthew Freiheit, Iconic examines the horrors of fame, drug addiction, cyberbullying, and codependence in the gritty and hollow life of an Instagram influencer.
Emma Jade plays Rose, a famous social media icon who finds herself embroiled in controversy after a beauty product she endorses causes customers to develop hideous wounds on their faces. She takes no responsibility for the fallout and remains committed to continuing her celebrity lifestyle, assuming everyone will forgive and forget once it falls out of the news cycle.
Shortly afterwards, she meets Lily (Alyssa Anthony), who manipulates her via love-bombing, drugs, and gaslighting. As the two embark on a highly toxic love affair, Rose, plagued by visions of a hooded figure stalking her, begins to lose her grip on reality. Her sanity reaches a breaking point when Lily invites her to participate in a drug-fueled orgy with a fame-obsessed, cult-like group.
The movie unfolds like a fever dream, with bizarre vignettes that barely connect to form a coherent story. “Iconic” feels like a movie an immature teenage David Lynch fan would make. The problematic script feels juvenile as well, with Rose spouting such gems as, “Hot girls have personality disorders. I don’t make the rules.”
As the tedious and bizarre film progresses (the 90-minute runtime felt like three hours), the dialogue becomes more repetitive, the imagery more violent and brutal, and the story more incomprehensible.
The final twist is depicted through a series of text messages and social media screenshots —a lazy storytelling move that felt like a total cop-out. This film is nothing more than a 90-minute vignette of fame and drug addiction unraveling a young woman’s psyche. The acting is subpar, with Alyssa Anthony delivering the only commendable performance; the writing is childish, and the directing is pedestrian.
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