Deepfake follows Jane, a thirty-something woman reeling from a breakup who finds herself drowning in the highlight reels of everyone else’s life while her own feels like it’s falling apart. In a moment of desperation she hires a paid best friend, which leads her down a rabbit hole of Gen Z social media consultants, SEO experts and influencer makeovers, all in the hope of winning back an ex who has already moved on. It is a social satire about image, influencer culture and what we are actually willing to sacrifice of ourselves to be perceived a certain way online.

Honestly I’ve had my fill of influencer culture movies. The concept is not new and at this point it takes something genuinely fresh to make me care. Deepfake did not fully get there for me, but it came closer than I expected and that is almost entirely because of Jessica DiGiovanni.

She is the reason this film works as well as it does. Her comedic timing is razor sharp and she brings a warmth and relatability to Jane that keeps you invested even when the plot starts losing its footing. I hope she leans into comedy because I would love to see her in more comedic roles.

The problem is the film does not quite know what to do with all the chaos it builds. It sets up some genuinely interesting ideas, there is a subplot about outsourcing her online persona to a man in India that had real potential and the film barely scratches the surface of it. The ending lands flat when it should have landed hard. For a movie that spends so much time building up absurdity it needed a more satisfying payoff.

That said there are enough strong comedic moments throughout to keep you entertained even when the story loses you. If you are a fan of sharp one liners and physical comedy DiGiovanni and her co-stars deliver consistently.

6.8/10. Strong lead performance and genuine laughs but the script does not live up to its own premise.