South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – Written and directed by Jan Van Dyck, The Nipple Whisperer (2021) is an avant-garde, English/French-language short film that will be screening as part of SXSW Online 2021’s short film lineup. The Nipple Whisperer seems like a straightforward, straight-laced movie, with all the trappings of a well-produced and directed, character-driven film, however, this movie takes unexpected turns in both the formation of its plot and its main character, and these artistic licenses end up paying off in the form of a tongue-in-cheek but emotionally-provocative film.

The Nipple Whisperer stars Denis Lavant as retired professional Maurice “Sandy” Sanders, who one day is mysteriously called to meet an old acquaintance at a bar. After being asked to offer his services again on-set to help a young ingenue prepare for a performance, Maurice accepts and performs his magic — whispering to women’s unclothed breasts. After completing his task, he is called by an old ingenue, who was very special to him, to meet, where he can only hope to be able to work his magic with her once again.

The premise of The Nipple Whisperer seems like an immature joke, but its high-quality production and thoughtful character performances are portrayed with the straightest of faces, making the movie seem like it is just on the edge of laughing at itself, but it never does. It is a movie that has somewhat warring storylines, where the silly storyline is just out of focus, meanwhile, the main storyline provides a comparatively more somber tone. The Nipple Whisperer is weird, but also not, and its balance of the dramatic and comedic genres is a credit to its writing from director Jan Van Dyck.

For most of the movie I had no idea what was going on during The Nipple Whisperer, and not at all because its storyline was incoherent or improperly structured, but rather because I had no idea what was going to happen next from its unexpected style and uneasy tone. At some point, I found that I was totally engrossed in the film, so much so that I forgot I was watching just a short 15-minute foray into the purposely hidden world of behind-the-scenes film/TV production and the odd characters and rituals that often come with it.

The Nipple Whisperer starts out serious and ominous, which builds tension, at the height of tension the audience is blasted with a comedic scene that completely changes the tone of the film, and finally, the movie ends on a bittersweet note of love and longing, brought to fruition by its superb cast.

The Nipple Whisperer reviewed as part of our South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival coverage.

7 out of 10