Isabelle Fuhrman in The Novice (IFC Films)

About three quarters of the way through The Novice, something happens which, in the context of this film, feels jarring. Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrmann) and Jamie Brill (Amanda Forsyth), the only two novices on their college’s varsity crew team, are driving together to practice. The nature of their relationship is, as of yet, uncertain. Alex works so hard, and with such fanaticism, that it’s clear she’s physically hurting herself early on. Jamie, by contrast, is much more relaxed and more likely to stand up for herself when their older teammates start bullying. Are these two friends? Competitors? Both of them have been working their way to prominence on the team, which could include an athletic scholarship. However, they have just found out it might go to an older teammate.

Jamie then explodes and starts panicking. She really needs this scholarship. If she doesn’t get it, she may not be able to afford to stay in school. Alex looks at her, silent, confused. She herself is already on a full-ride scholarship. She is not in this for the money. She is in this only to be the best, to win, and here is someone voicing concerns she hadn’t even thought to consider. This scene is striking not only because it is a turning point of sorts, but because it is the one time we hear any one express a will of their own, as opposed to serving as a foil to Alex.

The Novice centers on Alex’s state of mind, which director Lauren Hadaway goes to great lengths to dramatize. Immediately we are introduced to a soundscape replete with drones and menacing whispers. These voices in Alex’s head repeat instructions she receives from college professors or her crew coach, and egg her on relentlessly to work harder and to win. Often those surrounding her are not quite in focus, and some sequences turn slow-motion and expressionistic, with a heightened soundscape and a few disconnected images, to broaden her sense of obsession and separation. Her drive is almost devoid of reason. She retakes a test even when she already receives a good grade. She starts rowing not because of any passion for the sport but because she has no experience in it and therefore knows it will be more of a challenge. As the film traces her introduction to and ascendency on the crew team, it becomes clear that she is her own worst enemy.

Hadaway was the sound editor on Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash and reviewers have already noticed the similarities. Thankfully, The Novice has few of the other film’s flaws. Unfortunately, it has its own set of flaws. While it makes sense to some extent that secondary characters might feel a little hazy in a film that seeks so completely to immerse itself in one character’s consciousness, this technique is too easy to see through. With the exception of Jamie, no one else feels real enough in the moments when Alex’s state of mind is not overpowering the movie. Dani (Dilone), a teaching assistant who becomes Alex’s lover, speaks dialogue that is little more than expositional (asking Alex the right questions that gradually reveal her background); Coach Pete (Jonathan Cherry) also is little more than a quickly sketched, if agreeable, figure who alternately encourages Alex to take it easy or to work hard.

Beyond that, what does Alex’s mania even amount to? Yes, this story is both a cautionary tale and a commentary on the current mania for “achievement,” and yet most of what this movie reveals (that this passion goes beyond reason, is hurtful to oneself and to others) seems so obvious it leaves the viewer thinking, so what? Little to nothing here is either contradictory or unexpected, and while its soundscape and narrative drive might arrest the viewer for a moment, the film barely holds up when examined more closely.