Ema (MIFF 2020) star Mariana Di Girólamo is once again magnetically front and centre – this time, literally – as a dangerous wannabe social-media influencer in this dark, visually daring drama.

Marriage to a star Chilean footballer is not enough for Verónica; she wants fame in her own right. More specifically, she wants to be the face of a high-end brand’s new lipstick, and what Verónica wants, Verónica gets. First, however, she needs two million followers on Instagram, and no-one is going to stand in her way – not her husband, not their infant daughter, and not the homicide detectives investigating the death of Verónica’s firstborn child 10 years ago.

Chilean director Leonardo Medel makes the stylistically bold choice to put Di Girólamo face-on in the centre of every single frame of La Verónica. It pays off, thanks to the actor’s arresting presence and to Medel’s script, which cleverly explores the perils of contemporary always-on-display lifestyles and the psychological damage that can be hidden, or manifested, behind the Insta-perfect façade. With Pedro García’s static camera underscoring Verónica’s perpetual performativity, La Verónica emerges as a disquieting and at times bleakly comic examination of a very 21st-century phenomenon.

“Medel deploys a deft amount of black humour but there’s always a disturbing edge to the mood … Verónica's constant power play and angling remains compelling to the last.” – Eye for Film