It's to the credit of writer/director Jacob Vaus that SCUBA never dazzles. 

Weird, eh? 

I found myself more than once thinking of the Stephen Chbosky film The Perks of Being a Wallflower while watching SCUBA, though I can't help but think that this film kind or proves there really is no perk in being a wallflower. 

It's all kind of bullshit. But, maybe that's okay. 

In SCUBA, Don (Johnathan Middleton) is more than a little bit of an outcast. He wears something resembling trauma on his sleeves, though he's wound so tight you're never quite sure what's going on with him. Don is socially awkward and academically apathetic. His mother (Rahkiah Brown) seems equally inadequate when it comes to human connection. 

Then, he meets Becca (Stephanie Reedy). Becca's a wannabe theatre princess who never quite gets a break and has spent her high school career perpetually cast in the ensemble. 

I wouldn't quite say the two "meet-cute," but their dysfunctions seem compatible enough and they share a spark. When Becca confidently eyes yet another lead and is subsequently squashed once again, the two decide to put on their own show. 

By now, you're probably expecting some sort of dazzling little coming-of-age flick where two high school misfits unite and conquer the world. 

Except, hey. In the real world, that's really not how things work out. Again to his credit, Vaus seems to know this and accept this. The truth is that both get in over their heads, their artistic aspirations not quite matched by their talent. Their dysfunctions suddenly, likely not surprisingly, are no longer quite as compatible as Becca's insecurities creep in and she gets downright vicious. For Don? It feels like that constantly bubbling underneath the surface trauma is rising to the surface. 

I do see a common ground between The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a film I love, and SCUBA. Vaus keeps things relentlessly honest and refuses to cater to saccharine sentimentality and faux character development. Don and Becca feel like genuine human beings, people who've been broken in many ways by life and who are just looking for someone or someplace safe. 

Becca wants to be seen. She wants to be heard. She wants to matter as much as her seemingly more successful brother. 

Don? I'm not convinced he's figured out yet what he wants or needs. It's clear he wants to be loved, however, just like his theatrical aspirations it feels like that aspiration may very well be more than he can handle right now. 

It's refreshing to have a film where the two leads don't necessarily get everything figured out. There are moments of sweetness, moments of rage, moments of despair, and moments where you're not quite sure what to think. 

Amidst this all, it must be noted that Johnathan Middleton gives the kind of performance that should have Hollywood knocking on his door. Middleton could have easily turned this into a towering tour-de-force. He doesn't. He keeps it quiet. Painfully quiet. He makes us feel for Don and yet constantly wonder whether that bubbling volatility will go inward, outward, or simply never be expressed. It's a beautiful performance, painful yet beautiful with layers of complexity that are almost jarring. 

As Becca, Stephanie Reedy also gives a gem of a performance as a teenage girl who seems to be living a life she's not quite equipped to handle. She vacillates between being sweet and self-centered, cruel and achingly vulnerable. You can't help but feel most of the time like if someone doesn't intervene this is someone who's going to break. 

Truthfully, the entire ensemble is strong with kudos also going to Brock Kruckemeyer as Becca's ex-boyfriend and Russ T. Nailz as Garnett among others. An eloquent moment occurs in the credits as we learn the film is dedicated to the memory of Nailz. 

James Orr's original score for the film is sublime with a perfect mastery of all the film's narrative rhythms. Lensing by Sean Thomson is equally impressive in capturing the big and little moments in Vaus's compelling, always engaging story. Jack Massura's production design immerses us in this world that alternates between being immersive and being suffocating. 

SCUBA, in the end, isn't quite the film you expect it to be. Picked up by indie distributor MVD Entertainment Group and now available on most streaming platforms, SCUBA avoids the dazzle in favor of something that feels more honest and truthful and memorable. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic