S.F.W.

S.F.W. (1995) is an American tragicomedy about the power of television you can watch online on iFILM. A terrorist crew calling itself Split Image storms a convenience store and holds the customers for 36 days on camera, demanding the footage air on every channel in the country. One hostage, jaded teenager Cliff Spab, meets their death threats with a shrug and the line "so fucking what" — and that flat indifference makes him famous.

Stephen Dorff plays a kid dragged into fame he never wanted; survive the ordeal and suddenly he's the face of a generation, a reluctant icon. Reese Witherspoon is Wendy, the other survivor the ratings-hungry press forces into a romance for the cameras. A very young Tobey Maguire turns up in a small role. Director Jefery Levy delivers a mean little satire of nineties media and celebrity culture — grungy, jittery and deliberately abrasive. It won't be for everyone, but anyone raised on that MTV aesthetic will feel it hit a nerve. Stream S.F.W. (1995) online on iFILM.