Self Made Review

Turner Prize-winner Gillian Wearing makes her feature debut with this look into the cathartic power of drama. The motive for inviting volunteers to work with Method acting coach Sam Rumbelow isn’t revealed, making it seem that the troubled souls confronting their psychological traumas and issues are involved in a piece of artsploitation every bit as unscrupulous as reality television. The camera prowls their rehearsals, intruding upon moments of upset and epiphany as the actors perform various exercises before making filmlets pertinent to their problems. Emotions are exposed, but more emerges in confessional interviews than in the workshops, where the amateur therapeutics fall flat.