Summary
A tension-filled exploration of a relationship filtered through the lens of the creative process. Possibly.
Things are not what they seem in this Sundance-premiering film from director Lawrence Michael Levine. Here he taps into the inherent tension that sits within all closed systems of coupledom. It’s almost like he wanted to lob a grenade into the mix to see what would happen. The fragments of shrapnel take us in some unexpected directions.
In a remote mountain cabin, couple Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon) host filmmaker Allison (Aubrey Plaza) while she attempts to fuel her creative process. Allison’s presence rapidly fuels the existing friction between the couple, who are already anxious while expecting their first child. Jealousy and conflicting ideals come to the surface as the pressure builds to breaking point.
It becomes difficult to talk about any further developments without dipping into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that Levine’s screenplay offers viewers an alternative perspective on events, using thematic repetition and the conventions of the three-act structure to mess with us. Held together by a recurring image of Allison in a red bathing suit on a pier, the lines between autobiography and character creation get incredibly blurred as the film progresses.
“It’s so rare I get a chance to pick a real artist’s brain.”
My immediate reaction to this film was ‘mumblecore Mulholland Drive’ but at least one other reviewer beat me to that quip, and I can’t use it in a review. So, I won’t. Instead it’s worth considering this film on its own merits, as a collection of possibly abstract scenes where character and mood are of paramount importance.
It’s one of the better aspects that Levine has borrowed from David Lynch here, casting Plaza in what is arguably one of the best performances of her career to date. Effectively playing multiple characters, or at least multiple aspects of the same self, we’ve never seen Plaza this raw. Quite literally laying herself bare in some scenes, the typically deadpan actor swings between subtle manipulation to anguished cries at the drop of a hat. It’s mesmerising to watch unfold.
Robert Leitzell’s photography is both deliberate and delicate. At times it captures the claustrophobia of the intimate three-way relationship at the core of the story, while at other times it’s the crisp vastness of the lake surrounding the house. Giulio Carmassi and Bryan Scary’s makes itself a little too present in the early stages of the film. Indeed, the early scenes of light banter are unnerving thanks to a very sinister set of scales following the main characters around.
In a film that uses repetition and recurring motifs as a narrative device, Levine may be fully aware that we’ve seen this film before somewhere. It’s a hard feeling to shake by the time the credits roll, but the sense of mystery and fine performances manage to sustain momentum for most of the running time.
2020 | US | DIRECTOR: Lawrence Michael Levine | WRITER: Lawrence Michael Levine | CAST: Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Gadon, Christopher Abbott | DISTRIBUTOR: MIFF 2020 (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 – 23 August 2020 (MIFF)
