Is Kristen Stewart Hollywood’s Next Big Director? Debut Stuns Critics With Hunting Psycho-thriller [Watch]

Kristen Stewart has graduated from being Bella Swan to one of Hollywood’s upcoming directors.

In her debut film Come Swim, Stewart proved how her creativity can also go behind the scenes. Come Swim is a production for Refinery29’s Shatterbox Anthology film series. The film already premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Fest last January, and it tells a story of a man that battles with himself and his past.

Stewart’s work is not the traditional plot. With the short 17 minutes to tell her story, she did not use the normal introduction-climax-conclusion style for a movie; there wasn’t a linear chronology in the work. One other stunning revelation was how Stewart used very little dialogue in the entirety of the film. Key words like “water,” “me,” and “dead meat” made all of the impact necessary.

The film is described as a “diptych of one man’s day; half impressionist and half realist portraits.” As Frist Showing noted, the film is pretty abstract. It plays on the senses as it features great cinematography and score. The music was produced by American musician St. Vincent.

Though it is a great work of art, Come Swim is probably not for everyone. Since it leans more on the abstract storytelling in film, you don’t get the concise sense of what the protagonist wants to accomplish. It’s not your traditional blockbuster film.

As Refinery29 noted, it makes you think.

“It challenges our perception of reality and illustrates the mysterious manifestations of our inner torments — specifically, heartbreak and anxiety.”

The water is a big part of the story as well. From the drowning scenes to the man’s thirst quenching of the tap water, it represents a deeper struggle within oneself.

Stewart also admitted the story is a “full-frontal heartbreak.” The director said that is what she wanted to accomplish: to tell a story about heartbreak.

Stewart also said she wants the audience to appreciate the anxiety in the film and accept the fact that life is not always full of rainbows. She wanted to highlight how the voices in our head sink us to deep emotions, but we don’t usually show it out in public. She wanted to show the struggle in everyone and represent it as a normal occurrence in life.

“I just wanted to externalize an incredibly internal struggle and then see it again from the outside.”

Stewart said the film is the “most satisfying” project she’s ever done, according to IndieWire. We can simply hope there will be more to come.

Watch Kristen Stewart’s film now.