For the uninitiated, “IRL” is text-speak for “in real life.” The film, with an often fearless mix of boldness and intimacy, offers a very real conflict in the digital age: nice guy, struggling artist and romantic Ian (Chase Hinton, who wrote the script) wants a committed relationship. The online dating scene is often played for laughs in films that depict the dating, the disappointments, the ejection. In “IRL,” Hinton, director Ricardo Perez-Selsky and DP Sarah Phillips create an alluring atmosphere of the false sense of intimacy that comes with an online encounter and the question what, exactly, defines a “real” relationship? When Ian connects on a phone call with Sophia, the attractive woman with a Spanish accent that he meets on a dating app, he’s smitten pretty quickly. They joke, they both like poetry, they get each other. As their easy conversations progress, Ian shares more and more with Sophia: he tells her about his abusive dad and his frustration trying to break into the Los Angeles gallery scene.
Sophia has left LA for Mexico to tend to her ill mother. She keeps finding excuses to delay an in-person meeting with Ian. Her stated fear of revealing herself is so great she won’t even do a video chat with him, even after their connection becomes sexual — yes, the film goes there and does so believably. Ian is understanding at first — he’s a little too accommodating and apologetic which, in one of the film’s deft strokes, subtly portrays one of the dynamics of bullied kids. After a while, Ian begins to have doubts but convinces himself that he needs to trust. This creates a tension in the story it raises skepticism about whether Sophia is real and what her motives are. But Ian is blossoming. Even without connecting “in real life,” his art gets better and he snags an exhibition. As Ian, Hinton delivers a natural and likable performance that requires him to be onscreen for the whole film and to build a convincing relationship with just a disembodied telephone voice. A scene with his aggressive father late in the film transcends cliche and provides a welcome, honest revelation into both characters. “IRL” is about more than an online relationship; it is grounded in complex emotions that are painfully real.
