My First Time

The scouts

The premise does the work here—bait-and-switch the audience's expectation of what 'first time' means, then pile on action-thriller mechanics where a coming-of-age moment should be. It's the kind of tonal whiplash that makes people mad, which is exactly why it works.

Livni's command of genre codes is precise, but the film walks a tightrope between satire and exploitation that earlier traditions (Haneke, Breillat) have mapped more carefully; the dark comedy landing depends almost entirely on whether the formal choices earn the moral permission to laugh.

The reversal works because of sound design—the shift from intimate, naturalistic audio to kinetic thriller underscore is what sells the tonal pivot, making a shoestring budget look like Livni understood exactly which single element needed to carry the whole trick.

Reviews

This little film by Israeli director Asaf Livni has Maggie "doing it" for the first time. But the intentions quickly turn sour in an action packed thriller that shines a dark humour.

With tensions rising we get surprised with unexpected confrontations constantly keeping us on our edge. So don't get too tied up and comfortable in your chair, as "My First Time" might just make you fall off.