“Am I Ok?” follows best friends, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) and Jane (Sonoya Mizuno), living in Los Angeles through the ups and downs of life, relationships, and adulthood.
Throughout the film, Jane is determined to help Lucy find love. Lucy, 32 and having no luck with men romantically, begins to question her sexuality.
While Lucy struggles to juggle coming out and her career, Jane announces her move to London. Lucy does not take this news lightly, and tension soon arises between the duo.
The film was initially released at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 but is now available for streaming on Max.
Highs
“Am I Ok?” is loosely based off of the film writer, Lauren Pomerantz's, real-life experience. In her 30s, Pomerantz struggled to come out to her closest friends out of fear of losing those friendships. This experience inspired “Am I Ok?,” Pomerantz’s first film. This context adds to the film’s relatability as coming out “later in life” is a very real experience, but is often not portrayed in mainstream media.
Though “Am I Ok?” focuses on both friendships and relationships, Lucy and Jane’s friendship remains consistent throughout the film. The writer’s choice to focus on Lucy and Jane’s sisterly love puts an emphasis on the important role that friends and chosen family play in the coming out process.
Lows
The film has few lows, however, Lucy’s first woman love interest, Brittany (Kiersey Clemons), could use some work. The character was a childish baby gay. Though their relationship was overall valuable in Lucy’s journey, the relationship got too much screen time.
Verdict
“Am I Ok?” plays to the question people coming out later in life often ask in a touching story of self rediscovery.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Madison Cantrell is the Arts and Entertainment Editor at The Eastern Echo and the Editor-in-Chief of Cellar Roots, EMU’s Fine Art Magazine. Since Fall 2023, they have written news, features, and reviews and taken photos for The Echo.
