Here, it is *insanely* apparent why they went the found footage route: by making the main character a filmmaker, he can make commentary on the artifice of moviemaking and on his own failings as a director in the past.

He also finds new things to do with found footage, such as keeping the characters pretty much *constantly* aware of the camera. Usually my beef with found footage is that the actors acknowledge it for 5 minutes or so and then act like a normal movie. Here, the "documentary" the girl is making plays an integral role in the plot. It's all textual.

I don't have a problem with "found footage fatigue." But you can't toss this film on the pile of "it's found footage just for the sake of being found footage!" Maybe it originated that way, but they found a *reason* for the found footage technique to be employed. It's crystal clear.