Casting About

Barry J. Hershey auditioned 184 actresses in five European and American cities for parts in a narrative feature, and this 2006 documentary, consisting of snippets from their tryouts, shows why film and theater professionals commonly refer to these events as cattle calls. All the young women are attractive and many are talented, but Hershey’s montages of their movements and behavior depersonalize and even dehumanize them even as they clarify his power, which almost turns them into prostitutes. I thought I’d enjoy this, but it wound up giving me the creeps. 86 min. (JR)

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