The Seven Faces of Jane

The road trip movie takes on a new face. Or, well, seven. While the open road is a time-tested backdrop for a protagonist’s quest for identity, The Seven Faces of Jane stretches the boundaries of that enduring narrative.

The only common threads that bind the film’s discrete sections are a few superficial details (a woman named Jane and her blue Mustang) and the promise of transformation and self-discovery at each turn. As Jane drives through LA county, she happens upon strangers, lost loves, and calls to action, each representing a new part of herself she must reckon with.

The film shuffles rapidly between thriller, modern dance, romance, and experimental horror, so it almost makes sense that genre-parody Community veterans make up so much of the billing, though you might miss their usual goofiness. We see Jane navigate an old flame’s beach concert, a Billie Eilish-loving quinceañera runaway, a bizarre audition in a mausoleum, and other strange set pieces you won’t be able to anticipate. Each director has a distinct eye — the film grain itself isn’t even consistent throughout the 90-minute runtime. The pace, though, is steady enough that any potential whiplash symptoms are mild.

The mini-stories are rarely totally legible, so much of the interpretive work is left up to the viewer. It can be a fun exercise, piecing together the film’s disparate parts and finding their sum greater. Of course, some segments will hit harder than others, but they’re short enough that none of them drag.

The film doesn’t land on a central message but offers riffs and variations on a few juicy themes. And you might come out of it with a new director to keep your eye on.