We're All Going to the World's Fair Review

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair review.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is as interesting as it is frustrating. An exquisite example of what can be made from nothing more than an idea and a performance. And what can’t be hidden without smoke and mirrors.

Classic movie reviews may contain spoilers.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Written by Jane Schoenbrun

Starring Anna Cobb and Michael J. Rogers

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair Review

As an experiment, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is fascinating. As a movie, it’s fine. It pushes a concept as far as its non-existent budget will take it. Its lead performance ensures that it’s further than it has any right to go.

Casey (Anna Cobb) decides to take part in an online horror role-playing game called The World’s Fair Challenge. She films what happens after taking the challenge so that others can see the changes that happen to her. When Casey’s videos start getting more and more serious one of her followers (Michael J. Rogers) reaches out hoping to help her.

The bulk of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair takes place as the video clips Casey has uploaded to the internet. We take the part of the people viewing her experience after signing up for the role-playing game. It’s an effective storytelling device for this specific experiment. It limits what the movie itself can do effectively…but it’s true to the narrative design.

Anna Cobb takes center frame for most of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Her performance is what the film relies on to make or break the whole thing. Cobb crushes the challenge. She’s easily the best thing about World’s Fair…which is a relief since she’s largely the only thing about World’s Fair. Her choices feel natural and relatable. As Casey slowly appears to be consumed by whatever the online game has affected her with…Cobb perfectly balances recognizable with off kilter enough to be effective.

The other bright spot of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is also what limits it. It (almost) fully commits to the bit. This is a slight, small film that amounts to watching the amateur blog uploads of a singular character. Uploads where mostly nothing happens. As art…it’s a bold swing. As entertainment…well…it’s watching video blogs. This is what I mean by the whole thing hinges on Cobb’s performance.

There is another character in We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. He exists to give it narrative climax. A viewer becomes concerned with Casey’s safety when her videos become more frightening and he’s afraid she is going to hurt herself, or someone else. It’s completely understandable why this character was inserted into the story. He’s meant to be our surrogate. A person watching the same thing unfold that we are who can do something, anything, about it. That’s part of why he shouldn’t exist.

I said that We’re All Going to the World’s Fair almost fully commits to the bit. This character’s inclusion is the part that doesn’t. As bold as the concept is…it would benefit from going all the way with it. We can’t do anything about Casey’s apparent slow descent. That’s part of what makes it fascinating to watch unfold. Having a character from outside of her world contact her breaks the illusion. It doesn’t ruin the trick…but it exists to explain the trick. Which is just as bad.

When we discover what’s going on with Casey the story shifts to this other character for a completely unnecessary epilogue. He tells us a story that we have no reason to believe. It’s an odd choice to give us a narrator who may be unreliable…but more importantly just doesn’t resonate with us. We’ve spent our time with Casey. Actually…we’ve spent our time as this outside viewer. Which makes him becoming part of the experiment even more jarring.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is well worth viewing. Cobb’s interesting performance combines with a unique piece of storytelling to create something original. It’s a clever, minimalist approach to crafting memorable moments and imagery. The nature of the movie makes it doubtful that you’ll feel the need to return to its story once you’ve finished it. You’re left feeling that a full commitment to Casey’s video’s being the sole storytelling device could have landed this true classic status.

Scare Value

You can look at We’re All Going to the World’s Fair in a few different ways. As performance art… it’s wonderful. At turns mesmerizing and a very different kind of unnerving. As a film…it’s a bit of a slog. The lead performance makes up for almost all that it lacks. You’re left feeling like you’ve seen something unique…but only about half of what you want.

3/5