Thirsty (2024)
2024
112 Minutes
An Oakland mayoral candidate struggles to figure out her personal and professional lives.
User Review
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With its flawed but sincere look at women, power, and politics, “Thirsty” is an uneven drama that dares to center a complex, ambitious woman in a world that isn’t built to accommodate her. With a blend of political maneuvering, domestic tension, and romantic temptation, the film covers a lot of ground. The tone is all over the place, but even when writer / director Emily Abt can’t quite decide where she wants her project to go, at least it’s interesting the entire way.
Audrey (Jamie Neumann) is a sharp defense attorney turned mayoral candidate in Oakland. Her campaign to unseat the popular incumbent Maya King (Brandee Evans) forces her to navigate murky political waters, family estrangement, and personal sacrifice. As election day looms, Audrey must wrestle with how much of herself she’s willing to compromise in pursuit of power. Well, that and the sexual advances of her hunky field manager, Derek (Tyler Lepley).
The supporting characters, especially Audrey’s skeptical husband (Sung Kang) and her struggling sister (Thora Birch), flesh out the story with varying degrees of success. Kyra Sedgwick adds a touch of gravitas as Anne Dixon, a steely political operative who sees Audrey’s potential and shapes it with both shrewdness and manipulation, highlighting the real-world consequences of ambition on personal relationships.
This is a film that’s clearly aimed at women, and the story works well on an emotional level. Audrey is a convincingly written female character. She’s ambitious, maternal, sexual, guilt-ridden, and occasionally ruthless. She’s not a fantasy of empowerment but a real woman trying to do something difficult in a world where she’s constantly second-guessed. Neumann brings a lived-in quality to her performance that’s very relatable.
The technical execution of film is a bit of a mess, however. The editing is choppy, occasionally undermining dramatic beats or transitions. The writing, while clearly passionate, can feel clunky, with expository dialogue that leans more on message than rhythm. Some performances are hit or miss (with most hovering at TV-movie level), though the cast does look the part. The direction doesn’t always tighten the slack, but there’s an underlying vision that at least feels fresh and different.
The film is not afraid to show the emotional cost of political ambition for women, especially for women of color, women in interracial marriages, women with families, and women who are judged as much for their clothes or beliefs as their ideas. It’s a film about how women support one another, and how they sometimes don’t. It’s about the impossible choices women in the public eye are constantly asked to make.
Unfortunately, the film loses steam in its final stretch. The climax never fully delivers on the stakes that have been building, and the resolution feels rushed and underwhelming. You can sense the film grasping for that powerful ending that it can’t quite reach.
Still, “Thirsty” deserves credit for aiming high. It’s not a great film technically speaking, but it is thoughtful, timely, and refreshingly centered on the kind of woman rarely given the spotlight. In the crowded world of political dramas, this one stands out by telling a different story that’s rooted in truth, messiness, and female perspective.
By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS0 member like this review.
