Jimmy Warden’s Borderline begins with an uncomfortable confrontation between obsessive fan Duerson (Ray Nicholson) and the personal security guard of the object of his deranged affections, Sofia (Samara Weaving), an encounter that veers between comedy and horror. The situation escalates violently, and several months later, with the help of some violent associates, Duerson is honing in on his revenge against security guard Bell (Eric Dane) and the girl of his dreams.
The film suffers from a wildly inconsistent tone. The intention is a dark comedy that approaches difficult subjects such as mental health and celebrity culture in an accessible, audience-friendly way. Sequences are designed to play to a crowd with their over-the-top silliness and contrasting melodramatic grimness. Certain sequences are more successful than others, with perhaps the most effective sequence being a comedic fight sequence between Weaving’s pop star and Alba Baptista’s unhinged Penny. The gruelling sequence sees power shift in dramatic ways that recalls the more effective thrills of Dan Berk’s and Robert Olsen’s Villians.
The result resembles Marjane Satrapi’s The Voices (2014), a film that similarly struggled to find its tone in a story about a disturbed and delusional central character who falls just short of being sympathetic. Nicholson certainly commits to the role, and if the movie has moments of pathos, it is due to his impassioned performance. This includes an ending sequence in the spirit of Pearl but lacking in Mia Goth’s intensity.
Though full of pop energy and a visual flair, the film is a very uneven collection of tense and comedic moments that offers more cliché than insight. Bold performances and an enjoyable sense of mayhem keep proceedings watchable but the often involving sequences of real tension suggest the film could have been more had it taken itself a little more seriously.