Sean Dever

Shrill is an attempt to appeal to an audience with identical tastes and an aptitude in convincing themselves they are interesting with hobbyism centered on niches and oddities, and it is a desperate attempt at that. I threw up a bit in my mouth at the try-to-hard nature of cramming as many cliches and progressive social norms as possible into the Annies world. The story is not interesting and it is based around interpersonal conflict and difficult social situations; the depth of the plot reflects this. The cinematography is not terrible. I did however notice some shots that were seemingly trying to portray a sense of authenticity and a "real world" look. This seems to be to help the audience relate. One example was in the first episode, when Ryan asks Annie for a kiss. Many other shows or films would try to make the scene look romantic, yet in this scene Ryan has his exposed back to the camera and Annie looks quite reluctant. The lighting stays dim and they have awkward body language while kissing. I see the point of the shot, that is the problem though, it's goal was so transparent it is cringe inducing. To be honest though, I recommend this show to the majority of people. You will probably enjoy it, because everything you watch is rubbish.