Slamdance 2023 Film Festival – Centering an entire feature film on a budding incel and white supremacist could really turn off a general audience. However, that’s not the case with director Remy van Heugten‘s nuanced character study Mascot. The film focuses on the perspective of a young man whose world falls apart, especially his domestic space. While the film never tries to justify the violence he unleashes as a result of his pent-up rage, it does offer a moving narrative about an outcast’s descent into an extremist subculture and the repercussions it has on his family.

The Dutch film, written by Gustaaf Peek with the original idea credited to van Heugten, stars Liam Jeans in a breakout performance as Jeremy. This kid can act, conveying both pathos and anger during the run-time. The movie opens with a shot of Jeremy in the dentist chair, his mouth wide open, and several of his teeth missing, due to a congenital defect. It’s an uncomfortable opening, for sure, but one that brings us inside Jeremy’s world and grounds everything in his perspective. On top of his teeth issues, he’s rejected by his father, played by Geert Van Rampelberg. Meanwhile, Abbey, his mother (Maartje Remmers), loses her job at a facility for the mentally handicapped. In short, nothing seems to work out in Jeremy’s favor. As a result, he engages in hooligan fights, masturbates to porn on his phone, and watches far-right videos.

Oddly, considering the content, the movie’s violence is fairly restrained. Instead, this is a feature less about shock value and more about the performances and characters. Thankfully, Jeremy isn’t some angry one-note dude. There are plenty of scenes where he shows tenderness, including a few moments between he and the mentally disabled that his mom oversees. They actually like him and manage to see beyond his dentures and missing teeth. Further, Remmers excels in her role, playing a mom doing everything she can to keep it together and look after her son and his younger sister, Emine (Frederike van Oordt). She really cares for her kid and tries to pull him from the brink, especially after he lashes out because of the way she eventually earns money.

Part of the reason this movie succeeds is because it focuses less on external politics and more on the personal. It shows how setback after setback in Jeremy’s personal life cause him to become consumed by white supremacist and incel ideology. He needs an outlet for his anger, and as a result, he engages in a few brutal actions. He also feels incredibly isolated, and this is reinforced by the tight shots and close-ups of his face illuminated only by his cell phone’s lonely glow.

Mascot is a well-controlled and well-paced film. Jeremy’s rage slowly simmers before it boils over, to the point he feels like everything, and everyone is against him. This is some heavy subject matter, but van Heugten handles it pretty masterfully. Mascot contains a sharp and emotional story about a young man’s journey down some ugly and toxic paths.

7.5 Out of 10