Robin is a young neurodivergent, queer, biracial British man who cannot stop talking when he is nervous, and the camera knows it. Masc, the new feature from Britain-based Swedish director Bertil Nilsson, follows him through a series of social tests that play like separate shorts stitched together. The film is choppy, sometimes baffling, and often very funny — a portrait of British social embarrassment that feels less like a movie and more like a workshop exercise.
The title works on two levels. It refers to gender presentation, and it puns on masking, the exhausting act of appearing normal so as not to alarm the neurotypical people around him. Robin’s nervously twitching legs and tendency to info-dump on anyone who asks a question mark him as someone who finds ordinary interactions very stressful. The film’s first scene sets up the pattern: Robin is having a job interview with Seth, answering open-ended questions about his strengths and weaknesses, when a quick pan to the left reveals three other people observing the exchange as if it were a performance.
The Interview Scene
In that opening scene, the camera and quick edits dart around the room without giving a clear view of Robin’s face. Then a quick pan to the left shows three observers commenting on his and Seth’s interaction. One of them, herself Afro-Caribbean, suggests that Robin’s lush Afro hairstyle is “maybe a bit too Mufasa.” The ambiguity over whether this is a rehearsal or a real interview is never resolved, and the film keeps that ambiguity throughout.
Later, the scene is rehearsed again, with Seth and Robin swapping roles. That move suggests all of what we’ve just seen may be rehearsals, or little plays about masking that Robin is acting out in his head. The film’s experimental feel comes from that uncertainty — it feels closer to the kind of work you might see on stage in London’s physical theater scene.
Griffin’s Lead Performance
Joshua Griffin plays Robin, and he is the star of the show. His machine-gun line delivery, hulking physicality and hooded, sad eyes pull all the attention to him in whatever scene he is in. Griffin previously played a similar autistic, gay character in Nilsson’s acclaimed short Repair, and he brings that same intensity to Masc.
Nilsson, who also acts as the film’s DP, frames Griffin lovingly throughout. That rapport makes it easy to overlook the film’s slightly disjointed, more perplexing qualities. Griffin has worked with Complicité, formally Théâtre de Complicité, a major player in the physical theater space, and dance plays an important role in the film here.
Supporting Scenes
Not every sequence lands. A scene where Robin works in a laboratory with a very chatty non-binary colleague Cam, who won’t shut up about LARPing, is less clear about what point Nilsson is trying to make. But Bellekom has a charming nervous energy that keeps the scene from sinking.
Other sequences work better. Robin goes to the gym with Benji, a new friend from the construction work gig he has taken on recently, and he stands by watching quite bemused as Benji and a third guy compete over who can bench press more weights. That scene captures masculine performance in the most literal sense.
In another sequence, Robin goes camping with Darius, an older man who appears to be Robin’s father, and the two ineptly struggle to construct a tent on a hillside. The process is as complex as finding a way to talk to each other as adult men who accept one another’s differences.
The Production Team
Nilsson directs, writes, produces, and shoots the film. The full credits show a small production company called Duktiga, with producers credited to Nilsson himself. Joanne Michael serves as executive producer, and Nico Carmandaye handles costume design.
Anna Meller edits, Ines Adriana handles sound design and mixing, and Daniel Sonabend provides the music. Phil Canning serves as music supervisor, and Harry Price choreographs. Hannah Ashby Ward handles casting.
What We Make Of It
Masc is a striking, distinctive debut feature. Nilsson’s deliberate, fragmentary direction asks the viewer to sit with ambiguity rather than resolve it, and that approach will not appeal to everyone. The film’s choppy transitions and staged uncertainties mean it may be too rarefied to venture beyond festivals and niche settings.
But the distinctiveness of Nilsson’s vision and Griffin’s skill will leave many viewers looking forward to seeing what they do next. Griffin’s performance is mesmerizing, and Nilsson’s direction, though sometimes quizzical, is heady and affecting.
The film is a meditation on the performative nature of everyday existence, and it treats that subject with humor as much as severity. It is a work about British social embarrassment as much as any Richard Curtis comedy, but without the expensive soundtrack choices or hideous sentimentality.
Key Facts Box
– Title: Masc
– Director: Bertil Nilsson
– Lead Actor: Joshua Griffin
– Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes
– Production Company: Duktiga
Supporting Cast
– Tega Alexander as Benji
– Reece King
– Ed White as Seth
– Lincoln Conway as Darius
– Robbie Bellekom as Cam
– Hi Ching
– Barney-Joe Jones
– Rocky Gharu
– Jamie Quinn
– David Boyle
Nilsson and Griffin share screenwriting credit, based on a story by Nilsson and Griffin. The film draws strength from Griffin’s mesmerizing lead performance, and the distinctiveness of Nilsson’s vision will leave viewers wanting to see what they do next.
Source material: “‘Masc’ Review: A Neurodivergent Gay Man Navigates the World in a Striking and Distinctive Debut Feature,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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