When a bored housewife starts an affair with a married man, she becomes the next target of his wife, an L.A. influencer who goes to lethal measures to protect her Instagram-obsessed brand.
(Austin Film Festival QF)

SYNOPSIS:

Based on the book Love, Or Something Like It by Todd Foley

Our leading lady Ashley Miller has a Pacific Palisades home, two kids, a lawyer husband, and a disdain for her micromanaged life.When she’s had enough, she goes to bed with Asher Sanford, the first willing man she runs into. It’s all fun and games until Ashley learns about his wife, Marilyn, a red-haired L.A. Instagram influencer, entrepreneur, zealot feminist and control freak. She’s worshipped by her followers, feared by her employees, and her husband is kept on a tight leash - all essential to maintain her meticulously perfect brand. As Ashley returns home to be gaslighted each evening by her husband Dan, she grows increasingly curious about and envious of Marilyn who is living the unattainable American Dream. Ashley follows Marilyn online, visits her high-end clothing store and gets a wardrobe upgrade from Marilyn.

But when Marilyn decides one day to surprise Asher at home, she looks through the window and catches him in the act with Ashley, recognizing Ashley by the outfit Marilyn handpicked for her. Marilyn returns to work as if nothing happened, then later she butchers her husband in their kitchen. Her next mission? To torment Ashley, the woman who ruined her perfect brand.

When Ashley comes for her weekly rendezvous, she sees the body on the kitchen floor next to a note that says “I know.” She flees the house, unable to decipher if she’s seeing Marilyn’s red hair everywhere she looks and or if it’s all in her head. With each Instagram post Marilyn publishes - outside Ashley’s house, in her kids’ school and near Dan’s law firm - Ashley knows that Marilyn is on the hunt and will savor each scream when she moves in for her next kill.

Ashley tries to lure Marilyn to a public place for a confession, but Marilyn shows up at her home when she’s alone - the one place she still felt safe. Casual conversation turns to violent brawl when Marilyn pulls out a knife and cuts into Ashley’s leg to mark her as her property because, to Marilyn, being controlled is worse than than death. Marilyn challenges Ashley to make herself more than just a bored housewife, and reassures Ashley that she’ll be watching, as weak women are a bad brand. Rather than leaving Dan, Ashley confronts his years of emotional abuse, rebrands herself with a place of leadership at home, finishes her degree and launches a career, still looking over her shoulder for Marilyn. We celebrate her empowerment but we worry for her safety. Finally, we discover Marilyn made up her name and story so she could start fresh after killing another unfaithful man. With her perfect brand now ruined by this affair, Marilyn re-emerges as a black-haired bohemian named Vivien with a new Instagram account. She still keeps Ashley on alert by posting to her old account. Both bad men are now dealt with. But when “Vivien” sees her new man cheating, she knows how she’ll fix it. We know, too.