“Who is This?” Smithereens , Susan Seidelman’s Auspicious Debut Feature

Arguably Susan Seidelman’s most critically acclaimed film, Smithereens put the director on the map, bridging her career from New York University student to independent feature filmmaker to Hollywood director while showcasing her budding authorial sensibilities: melding complicated female characters with cityscapes to reflect the American cultural zeitgeist. Smithereens nevertheless has been difficult for people to categorize, in part because of critics’ reactions to the film’s unusual main character, the brusque and at times chaotic Wren (Susan Berman). The film, therefore, has been sidelined in some discussions of New York and/or punk filmmaking, yet its appeal endures in part because it is also a document of New York City in the very early 1980s. Leaning into its European influences, namely Italian neorealism and the French new wave, the film captures the essence of a New York rife with many now-famous musicians and artists who were just starting out. By leaning into its extratextual energy and refusing to have much to say about it, Smithereens remains both trapped in a historical moment and prescient in its portrayal of young people eager to influence and be part of emerging pop culture scenes.