Mainstream: Andrew Garfield shocks critics with 'grotesque' performance in new film

Social Network star is at the centre of numerous shocking scenes

Andrew Garfield's next performance has been ruffling feathers at a film festival.

His new film Mainstream premiered at Venice Film Festival, and critics walked out of the screening in shock largely thanks to the Social Network actor's role. 

Directed by Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of Godfather director Frances Ford Coppola – Mainstream satirises the age of social media celebrity via rising star Link (Garfield). 

Critics were left open-mouthed by many of his scenes, one of which sees him defecate on a desk during a live-streamed talk show. 

According to The Telegraph, Garfield's "go-for-broke horrendousness is a pleasure to watch through your fingers". 

The Hollywood Reporter said that, despite the film's shocking scenes, "it has to be admitted Garfield can be funny as hell." 

They wrote: "He is that rare actor who forces you to laugh against your will – maybe not all the time, but sometimes." 

Meanwhile, IndieWire described Garfield's character as "one of the most obnoxious ever", and said he is like "the grotesque lovechild of Val Kilmer’s Jim Morrison in The Doors and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker". 

Perhaps it is because of this that Screen Daily said Garfield's performance "demands respect for its take-no-prisoners abrasiveness" despite being "hard to like". 

Mainstream , which also stars Maya Hawke, Jason Schwartzman and Chris Messina, is yet to receive a UK release date.