Connor (Gabriel Basso) is in love. And just like many other people with a similar affliction, he is trying very hard to be the best version of himself.
Or, to be more precise, to be the best version of himself he believes the object of his love would want him to be (also, a popular choice, to be fair). So, Connor hits the gym religiously, keeps a particular diet, and learns how to handle a gun because his girl finds it hot.
Here’s the catch, though: the woman in question, Nika (Courtney Eaton), isn’t fully aware of Connor’s existence, at least not entirely. Nika is an influencer with a solid online presence, and Connor, hiding behind a nickname, is one of her many subscribers.
But for Connor, Nika is very much real, as a vision of her is ever-present by his side, constantly communicating with him, giving praise or alternatively disparaging him. The arrival of a new co-worker, Morgan (Rain Spencer), who immediately develops a crush of her own, nudges Connor to finally make contact with Nika for real.
Upon watching Iconoclast, it’s obvious why Gabriel Basso, known for starring in many genre works, including The Night Agent series and The Strangers trilogy, would choose something like this as his screenwriting and directing debut. Since the whole affair is centered around Connor, it is, of course, a clear opportunity for the actor to demonstrate the full scale of his range through a lonely, troubled man, stuck in a rut, coupled with an imaginary relationship and a job selling old appliances at a store that never gets customers. The film gradually reveals itself to be more than just a vehicle for fulfilling an actor’s ambition, though, since it actually has a lot on its mind.
Of course, Iconoclast isn’t the first movie to feature a character crushing on a romanticized version of an actual person, thus creating a foothold for all kinds of toxicity and disturbing developments. Interestingly, while you may think that you have seen parts of this film before or even lived parts of it (after all, crushing on public personas and what they represent isn’t all that rare), Basso’s script manages to deliver a few surprising developments.
In the end, Iconoclast digs quite effectively into the dubious nature of the very concept of realness. The online world has never been truly real, and yet every day it becomes just that to a myriad of people living in a world where actual human contact is often reduced to a minimum. Connor’s relationship with a live-streaming stranger is in no way real, either, and yet it is absolutely tangible and consequential for the guy, most of the time dictating his behavior and actions.
And then, there is this whole thing about what we can consider genuine in the context of our own identities. The film cleverly avoids showing us any of Nika’s streams until the end, only allowing the audience to listen to them, and exclusively presenting us with an imaginary version of her, seen through Connor’s eyes. Morgan, another curious and significant character here, admits to lying a lot and is ostensibly putting on a certain persona, but can that persona actually be based in reality?
And while Connor, our main attraction, is trying to build his identity in real time, you might once again think you know how that will inevitably turn out – and probably guess wrong.
The film enjoys its world premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. Visit the film's page at the official festival site for more information.