Yet the set-up is complicated and intensified by Decker’s approach, stream-of-conscious filmmaking that mixes up free-form editing, Lynch-esque sound strategies and dizzying camerawork that has a tenuous grip on sharp focus. The result is a captivating, meta meditation on the process of creating art, grounded by three great performances: July perfectly embodies a weak mother figure, Parker is riveting as the dictatorial teacher who runs a theatre group like a cult, and Howard is electric in a dynamic debut full of controlled intensity (watch her seduce Evangeline’s husband) — catch her raw talent now before she gets gobbled up by the MCU.