Movie Review: ‘Floating Carousel’ And Interview With The Directors Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers

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By James Lindorf

Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers wrote, directed, co-edited, and starred in “Floating Carousel,” a dark comedy about modern dating in New York City that opened in New York last week and performed well enough to earn a second week. That is a genuine achievement for a film made on a shoestring budget, filmed largely in friends’ apartments, and driven entirely by the creative vision of two directors who happen to be great friends in real life.

The film follows five characters in their twenties as they navigate a web of contemporary dating arrangements. At the center of the story is Olivia (Napier), a messy philanderer, allegedly, and her best friend Ruby (Powers), who may or may not be a sugar baby. The remaining characters orbit their central dynamic. Nicole (Gus Birney) is a Gender Studies student, Sasha (Elsie Hewitt) is a professional cuddler, and Sebastian (Dylan T Jackson) wants to be famous but is afraid to put himself out there professionally, so he tries to sleep his way to Broadway. Then there is Shanay (Julian Cihi), an aspiring mogul whose journey from uncreative jerk to calculating manipulator and full-scale creep gives the film its villain and the target of its revenge plot.

The first half is where “Floating Carousel” is most alive. The characters come at you fast, and if you don’t like the current one, wait a few minutes and someone new will be introduced. The situations are grounded and recognizable, the kind of romantic and relationship dysfunction you could imagine yourself stumbling into even if you would prefer not to. Napier and Powers’ friendship chemistry translates naturally to the screen, and the ensemble finds its footing quickly.

The standout among the supporting characters is Sasha, whose professional cuddling practice gives the film its most complex and genuinely human thread. Even though her story is the furthest removed from most people’s typical experiences, Hewitt plays her with a grounded practicality that sets her apart from the more chaotic energy around her. Her interactions with Louis (Michael Cyril Creighton) are the film’s warmest and most thought-provoking scenes.

The film stumbles early in its moral architecture. The relationship conflicts are almost entirely one-sided. Olivia is accused of cheating, but the framing asks why her boyfriend should object. The husband in the open relationship is the bad partner for overlooking his wife’s complaints about the supposedly Bi women he brings home. The sugar daddy is a man in a midlife crisis making poor decisions. In the relationship with two men, both are problematic, using each other for different ends.

The problem isn’t that these characters are flawed. They should be. That messiness is where much of the film’s comedy comes from. The problem is that while they are portrayed as being at fault, the story moves on quickly, with Shanay as the only character the film fully holds accountable. The central characters do show some growth as they take ownership of their relational shortcomings, but it arrives late and briefly. The hard but honest conversations you would expect two close friends to have never come to fruition, as they are both caught up in their own issues and trying to be supportive.

That becomes even more apparent in the revenge sequence that drives the third act. The mechanism for vengeance opts for biological warfare over the more typical emotional reckoning, going big for levity and shock value when something more grounded might have landed harder. It is only partially successful. The revenge satisfies the characters’ urge to see Shanay brought down without fully accounting for the consequences it could have on others. The over-the-top execution, including breaking into a research facility, is fun in the moment, but it is where the film tips from smart dark comedy into something less convincing.

“Floating Carousel” is for people frustrated with their love life who want to see someone else going through it, and for anyone curious about the current landscape of modern dating and intimacy from the safety of a secure relationship or contented singleness. It also serves as a demonstration of what two committed independent filmmakers can achieve with minimal resources and maximum personal investment.

The film is at its best when the absurdity comes from recognizable people making questionable decisions. Once the story starts escalating beyond those relationships, some of that grounding gets lost. The first half alone is worth the price of admission. After that, you buckle in to see how far things will go. “Floating Carousel” earns a 3.5 out of 5.

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Delilah Napier, Lucy Powers
Producer: Adam Kinyon
Screenwriter: Delilah Napier, Lucy Powers
Production Co: Drama House Pictures