Disfluency (2025) Review – Navigating PTSD In A World That Wants To Know ‘What Happened?”

“Disfluency” delivers a nuanced take on a devastating life event in ways that remind you there is no one way you must handle things.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Plot Summary

After failing her final class, Jane returns home to a Detroit suburb to recuperate. Her mom is hard on her, her dad the champion for her she is, and her older sister Lacey is just worried. But, over the summer, Jane reconnects with familiar faces, old friends, and crushes and tries to reconcile with what happened to her and how to handle it so it doesn’t impede her life again and again.

Character Descriptions

Jane (Libe Barer)

Jane standing on a stage at school
Jane (Libe Barer), Disfluency

With training to be a speech therapist, Jane is a class away from having her degree and moving on to the next step. However, after being derailed by failing one class, she finds herself in limbo for the summer. To many, Jane the Brain is getting a deserved break, but for her, the failure and what caused it are frustrating, and with an independent study, she plans on finishing strong.

However, as it shows, she can’t just press on without revealing and addressing what happened, so comes the question of what the path forward looks like?

Lacey (Ariela Barer)

Lacey with a tiara on her head, laughing
Lacey (Ariela Barer), Disfluency

Lacey is Jane’s older sister, studying to be a veterinarian, who is close to Jane. You could even say Lacey is Jane’s best friend.

Amber (Chelsea Alden)

Amber looking at Jane
Amber (Chelsea Alden), Disfluency

Amber is a member of Jane’s friend group who got pregnant, had a son, doesn’t have much of a relationship with the child’s father, and is struggling a bit. Jane decides to help, though, which brings them closer and helps Amber with what is going on with her son.

Review

Characters

Everyone Plays A Role: Highlight (82)

Except for one or two characters, everyone in “Disfluency” has a role to play and doesn’t seem there just to fill out the cast, make it appear Jane has friends outside her sister or anything like that. On top of that, most people have a life. Lacey is studying to be a vet, Jane’s crush is an assistant manager at a local store, another one of Jane’s friends is working on becoming an influencer and has close to 100,000 followers, and the list goes on.

Heck, even in terms of Jane’s parents, you see their dynamic enough to feel the marriage is legit, but there are differences regarding how they treat their daughters and their daughters’ relationship to them. It all allows for a well-crafted and believable life when it comes to Jane.

Amber: Highlight (83)

While we get to know many of Jane’s friends to a certain point, a special focus is put on Amber. Beyond her son’s name being that of the person who disrupted Jane’s life, Amber also has a different trajectory than seemingly everyone else. From getting pregnant, having a deadbeat for a child’s father, and then all that Theo is going through, which Jane tries to help Amber with, you get someone who allows you to see Jane is more than what she struggles with.

Also, Amber allows Jane to be vulnerable. In fact, it seems to gain Amber’s trust; Jane had to be, and you can see a trust, maybe even love, built through that. For by watching Amber be Jane’s confidant, you see Amber be more than a means to Jane’s blossoming; it allows her to be a whole person as well, for neither one can ultimately fit easily into a box.

World-Building & Culture

Understanding That The Process To Report A Rape Still Is Discouraging: Highlight (85)

In a handful of scenes, Jane addresses what happened to her, and alongside navigating what happened, whether it was consensual and coming to terms with that, there is dealing with the police. The depiction of having to talk to one cop, who could write the wrong thing down, then having to speak to a detective, and then they have all their notes transcribed, making it so at least three people know your story, and multiple people could get it wrong.

Then, depending on the circumstances, you could still hear the same questions that everyone hates to hear, which try to redirect the attention to what factors you brought to the situation.

It goes on and on, and this is just filing a report. Then they have to do their investigation, ask the accused, seek witnesses, and what was a private matter that has scarred you for life, slowly but surely becomes common knowledge when all you wanted was to know what happened, maybe get an apology and some form of justice that could allow you to move on peacefully.

Story & Pacing

Pack In (1/2) Week(s) To Skip Nearly Two Months: On The Fence (78)

“Disinfluency” is the kind of film that doesn’t let things sit. In some ways this is fine, for you don’t want the film to drag as the lead builds up to revealing what happened to her. Yet, in the rush of Jane returning, reconnecting with friends, family, and even a love interest, and eventually revealing what happened, it can feel like things were rushed a bit.

Now, again, who wants a movie that drags its feet, right? But considering the topic at hand, even with establishing multiple days Jane just stays in bed, secluded, it could be submitted that the pacing can sometimes feel off with how everything plays out so that the film doesn’t lose its audience’s attention.

Implosion Over Explosion: Highlight (82.5)

I’m noticing a shift when it comes to the depiction of dealing with or revealing overwhelming things; more and more, it seems less about blowing up, destroying things, or relationships, and more about collapsing into oneself, if not focusing on analysis paralysis.

Now, this isn’t to say that everyone who deals with something major in their life, traumatic or otherwise, is restricted to one type of reaction. However, as we saw in “Inheritance,” where the lead character was the outlier when it came to grieving their mother, it can be submitted having different exhibitions of what it means to go through PTSD and deal with situations like Jane’s helps when these situations, unfortunately, happen. Through giving some sense that, if you don’t fall apart, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you, I think is important.

Diverse Hooks & (Re)Watch Value

Inclusion: Highlight (81.5)

Often times, when there is a film or situation focused on someone being assaulted, it usually sticks just to them, and understandably so. But, towards the end of the movie, someone opens up to Jane about what happened to them, and it acts as a small reminder of why representation doesn’t just matter in media, but when it comes to people you know and have some kind of connection with.

The person who reveals their assault isn’t Jane’s best friend but is in their friend group, trying to process what happened, and while maybe hearing what went on with her and the police may scare them off from reporting, at least they aren’t alone. If they ever decide to report, they know someone who can walk them through it and provide support, or, if they keep it to themselves, they have someone who understands why, in a world that thinks you should seek justice, sometimes, no matter the cost, you may just want to focus on quietly moving on.

Overall

Our Rating (82/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

When it comes to “Disfluency,” it feels like it is part of the grand shift in how we talk about rape, assault, and the general violation of one person by another. From the shift in what the survivor looks like, not always going big with the reveal, and depicting how the process to report still hasn’t changed, “Disfluency” gives a level of nuance that feels like a marker of where we are in society.

“Disfluency” Film Details

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Initially Available On/Via: Digital Release
Advisory Film Rating: Not Rated
Genre(s): Drama, Young Adult
Distributor(s): Buffalo 8 Distribution
Director(s): Anna Baumgarten
Writer(s): Anna Baumgarten

Content Information

  • Dialog: Cursing
  • Violence: Not Applicable
  • Sexual Content: Nudity (Limited), Sexual Situations (Criminal – Discussed Not Visualized)
  • Miscellaneous:  Drinking, Drug Use, Smoking

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been writing reviews since 2010, with a focus on dramas and comedies.