Not a Thing (Veszélyes lehet a fagyi 2022) is the first feature directed by Fanni Szilágyi. The story revolves around two identical twins who lead lives that are far from identical and perceive each other through contrasting perspectives. Éva is a wealthy housewife with a newborn, while Adél is a radiologist with limited income but a burgeoning romantic relationship. She also has an upcoming job in Norway, which could potentially change her life for the better. The film has a diptych structure, where the first part shows events from Adél’s viewpoint, and the second half is dedicated to a narrative through Éva’s eyes.
The man that Adél has feelings for, Ákos (Márton Patkós), works on a building site, and his boss happens to be Éva’s husband, Tamás (Máté Szabó). Will they start a relationship where he will visit her in Norway? Many of the events in the film’s first half, but not all, are repeated in the second half, and the spectator is bound to look for subtle differences in how details are depicted. It is far from a unique way of structuring a film. However, the execution is remarkably assured, not least considering that it is a debut feature. Szilágyi directed an 8-minute short in 2017 called A csatárnö bal lába életveszélyes also starring Stork.
Redundancy is Not a Thing
The scriptwriter. Zsófia Lany is a feature debutant as well, but she co-wrote the aforementioned short. The script is skillfully nuanced, with gradual surprises that are consistently earned. That everything is not as it initially seems is a given. Still, the way things differ is more interesting and challenging to decipher than what is commonplace in such a structure and demands the spectator’s participation to interpret the action where, occasionally, two different views of events might not be mutually exclusive. Nothing is redundant in the film; it is one of the few films I wish would have been slightly longer.
Fanny Szilágyi has a degree in cinematography, too, but Not a Thing is shot by her brother Gábor. His lensing perfectly captures the difference between the sumptuous villa on the hill where Éva has a wonderful view of the city and Adél’s cramped apartment. More importantly, the colours and framing also manage to mirror the women’s frame of mind, not least in the latter half. Zsófia Tasnádi’s production design deserves praise as well. However, without a compelling leading actress, it would all be for nothing. Natasa Stork (Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre 2020) is brilliant in both parts and undeniably manages to create two different characters, albeit with some similarities.
The acting is uniformly fine, not least the female parts, including the mother (Magdi Bodí). The love interest, Ákos, is played by Márton Patkós, who voiced the cat in Cat Call (Cicaverzum 2023). He is good here, as is Máté Szabó as Éva’s husband, in what might be the film’s least thankful role. The film still stands and falls with Stork, who shows she is up to the task. Not a Thing was yet another product of the Incubator Programme, which I’ve written about several times in the past. It is a highly impressive debut feature, and one can only hope that Fanni Szilágyi and Zsófia Lany will be able to continue making accomplished work in the future.
The worst thing about the film is the generic English title. The Hungarian title translates as Ice Cream can be Dangerous. Not a Thing is available on YouTube, but only without subtitles. At the moment, I am not aware of any streaming options.
