«Vne zony dostupa» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha

A schoolboy named Ivan (Oleg Chugunov - "Major Grom: Plague Doctor," "Demyan") is a colossal coward. For 15 minutes, the boy cannot jump into the water from the tower. Everyone waits in silence, only the boy's father (Kirill Kyaro - "Epidemic," "Star") goes up to him and gives him an ultimatum: "If you don't jump, I won't take you with me to Spain." A close-up shot, editing - Ivan is riding in a bus through the native Russian expanses.

As they say, there is no need to explain what needs to be explained. The boy got involved in a conflict from which he emerged as a loser, even more self-conscious. In the village, where he is headed, Ivan is greeted by his aunt Nadya (Kseniya Teplova - "Stepfather," "Grand") and his little cousin Anya (Elizaveta Medvedeva - "Flight," "Braid"). Having settled in a bit, the young man decides to ride a bicycle around the neighborhood, where he meets old friends Masha (Margita Diachenkova - "Lev Yashin: The Goalkeeper of My Dreams," "Happiness Clinic") and Kirill (the debut in the big screen of TikToker Vlas Kropalov).

As you might guess, we have a typical teenage melodrama about a love triangle. The story unfolds in the most straightforward and cliché way, exploiting all the well-worn stereotypes on which the genre relies. It seems that the creators of this project watched the Netflix movie "Isn't It Romantic?" with Rebel Wilson and decided to adapt it to Russian realities by slightly changing the setting.

One problem - Russian screenwriters, adapting the idea from adult to teenage, forgot that they were making a parody. Because of this, the film "Off-Limits" is filled with humor that is absolutely unfunny. From the first minutes, we see an example of abusive relationships between father and son. Later on, the authors will try to reveal the subtext of these relationships - it turns out that the head of the family, forced to behave like a moral monster, became like that due to deep disappointment he experienced in childhood because of unrequited love.

"Children are the reflection of their parents' problems," it seems that the screenwriters read something like this while working on the story of this film. Therefore, Ivan falls into the same situation in which his father was many years ago. The boy, facing old friends, initially puts on a brave face (doing what he couldn't do standing on the tower at the pool), pretending that he didn't go to Spain because he dreamed of returning to the village. Later, he confesses his own lie and discovers the wonderful new world of first love.

The motives of teenagers are difficult to explain sensibly in real life, so the creators of "Off-Limits" did not attempt to write anything coherent. The kids act expressively, give each other vows that they break after a couple scenes, and overall spend a "summer full of love" (such is the slogan of this film) haphazardly - without phones, without trust in each other, but with "exciting" adventures, which consist of going to the river bank, spending the night in a tent that is on the verge of collapsing at any moment, and visiting an abandoned pioneer camp, from which they are chased away by a grumpy guard.

When the story takes a turn towards a love drama, the film could have ended on an existential note of storytelling. However, instead, the authors crank up the gears of a teenage melodrama, seemingly unaware that they are transforming what could have been a cliché tale of young friendship into a dreary bundle of soap opera stereotypes from the "Domashniy" TV channel. The dialogues between the young characters become even more wooden, and their acting, which was already hard to endure, now reveals unmasked falseness.

Worst of all, the creators of "Out of Reach" convey a positive connotation to the challenging situation in which the hero finds himself. We won't give away spoilers about who the only beauty chooses (it's not hard to guess), but her subsequent behavior towards the young man, whose feelings went unanswered, doesn't deserve any sympathy. It would have been better if the screenwriters had included a hint of a gay storyline; the film would have only benefited from it (even if it received an 18+ age restriction).

And, of course, the film is yet another proof that children in Russian cinema, unfortunately, are completely incapable of playing a fictional character. Stanislavski would be furious at how clumsily the characters' speech sounds in the film, as they lie to each other one moment and hate each other the next. It is impossible to believe in any emotion that these young, sorrowful actors are trying to squeeze out of themselves. There is nothing to say about developing empathy for the characters.

"Out of Reach" is a trivial melodrama about a love triangle that is shattered by the assumption that friendship is more important than feelings. If you are ready to believe in such an overworked convention, perhaps this film is for you. But for everyone else, we recommend keeping your nerves in harmony and peace by staying away from such talentless melodramatic creations.