'I Live Here Now' Review: Julie Pacino’s Hauntingly Surreal Dive Into Identity and Madness - Fantasia 2025
- Romey Norton
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - July 26, 2025
Premiering at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival, I Live Here Now marks a striking and unexpected debut from director Julie Pacino (yes, that Pacino) and proves she’s not afraid to go deep, weird, and unsettlingly personal. With a dreamlike lens on womanhood, ambition, and unravelling reality, this surreal psychological drama blurs the line between internal conflict and external chaos.
What is 'I Live Here Now' About?
The story follows Rose, played with fierce vulnerability by Lucy Fry (Godfather of Harlem), a struggling actress juggling personal uncertainty and professional ambition. When she receives life-changing news that challenges everything she thought about her future (an unexpected pregnancy), Rose is suddenly thrown into emotional freefall just as a major career break, via formidable Hollywood agent Cindy Abrams (a sharp Cara Seymour), seems within reach.
As Rose tries to make sense of her new reality, things go from unstable to unhinged when her breezy boyfriend Travis (comedian Matt Rife in a surprisingly grounded role, though still naturally likeable and funny) invites his intensely watchful mother (the always-unsettling Sheryl Lee of Twin Peaks fame) to stay. Cue a slow-burn descent into confusion, dread, and surreal imagery that blurs the real and imagined.
Julie Pacino directs with bold confidence, layering dream logic over grounded performances and letting Rose’s world dissolve into an eerie, psychological fog. Shifts in tone, reality, and memory come without warning, mirroring Rose’s spiralling thoughts. There are strong themes of what it is to be a woman and a mother, and the trauma some women go through, and how that affects them throughout their lives.
The whole cast does a stellar job of bringing this story to life. Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale) is eerily captivating, adding another layer of mystery in a quietly menacing supporting role. Rife is charming, cheeky, and provides a little comic relief to a tension-filled script.
But it’s Lucy Fry who anchors it all. Her portrayal of Rose is deeply human, making her gradual unravelling believable and empathetic. Even as things get weird (and they do), Fry keeps the viewer connected and invested. Her character is rich in back-story and lives through a rollercoaster of emotions, which Fry handles incredibly well.
The visuals can be beautiful and verge on the eccentric, with bright colours, thought-provoking sets/props and costumes to match. The pink-milk tonic, especially, and a hotel stay will drive the imagination wild. If you’re a film fan, you’ll notice many references to other feminist and female-driven films, such as American Beauty.
As the story continued, I was hooked, but I did wonder where this was going. Those looking for a linear narrative or clear resolution might feel let down, but for audiences open to exploration and ambiguity, this is a fascinating, dreamlike meditation on identity, trauma, and the cost of self-invention.
Is 'I Live Here Now' Worth Watching?
Yes. If you’re a fan of films that prioritise mood and mind over plot, think Mulholland Drive, Black Swan, or Safe, then I Live Here Now belongs on your must-watch list. I Live Here Now is a hauntingly beautiful debut that blends indie aesthetics with psychological horror and surrealist flair. It’s a story about self-worth, self-love, and acceptance. Julie Pacino proves she’s a director to watch, while Lucy Fry delivers her most emotionally charged performance to date.
'I Live Here Now' premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival
For more original reviews of psychological dramas and genre-bending thrillers, head over to Film Focus Online, where great storytelling gets the spotlight it deserves.
