WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
“But, how do you REALLY feel about…?” This is a question we all have had to encounter at one point or the other. It’s often awkward, FAR too revealing, and can tend to land us in more potential trouble than on someone’s good side. While we should be acknowledging that TELLING the truth IS ultimately the BEST thing to aim for, it still remains one of the hardest things to accomplish WHEN we believe that in doing so, it could permanently ruin relationships we actually DO value. Or, might it end up BEING the path to necessary healing even IF the hurt is involved to start? Frantically preparing (not necessarily so successfully) for hosting a housewarming soiree for her boss and friends, Abbie (Olivia Vinall) is at the end of her rope. With her husband Matt (Killian Coyle) running late and guests arriving, one particular attendee, the rowdy, uncouth Jimmy (Richard Gadd) discovers something unexpected that livens things up–with the ensuing chaos delivering–candidly authentic–results!
Next, my Mind:
Wildly, irreverently comedic with an unflinchingly biting, persuasively compelling display of life truths that crashes headlong into the consequences of keeping secrets we so often do NOT wish to divulge but yet, in doing so, sees manifest the possibilities of inner and relational reconciliation, this boldly presented 21-minute indie short film from director/producer Vika Evdokimenko, writer/producer Oliver Shuster, producers Timothy Evans and Frankie Fogg, producer/executive producer Oleg Evdokimenko, plus associate producer Roland Heap, and associate producer/editor Monika Radwanska rains down total entertainment alongside evocative dramatic elements with resolute intent and sheer verity in how it puts our human nature out there for us to face and ponder–whether we want to admit the general relatability to events depicted or not! It’s the exposure of us AS living, intelligent (we hope!) beings and our penchant for sadly finding the means to hurt first before asking forgiveness in the aftermath. Frankly, the humor we get is almost “uncomfortable” at times, for even when not precisely encountering the direct issues written here, you KNOW you’ve had those moments where believing a lie or hidden truth we’re nursing was a GOOD thing REALLY isn’t at all!
Entreated to the narrative conveyed that sees a deeply struggling couple find both heartbreak and healing within the contexts of a party they’re hosting going decidedly astray, the pacing is perfect here, relentlessly pushing us into the harried fray from the beginning, outlining the things already happening and then subsequently to come, finalizing it all by offering complete and all-encompassing chaos that will have emphatically varying impact on everyone who’s involved while perhaps managing to pave the way for illustrating that ever-popular phrase “and the truth shall set you free”. HOW this is carried forward is what makes this film so bluntly effective, for it doesn’t make EXCUSES for people’s faults, total missteps, and poor decisions, nor that there AREN’T any consequences for what gets revealed, to whom, by whom, and to what ends. BUT, it then takes this atmosphere of (mostly) embittered revelations and showcases the manner in which said aspersions CAN usher in the opportunity for NEW or BURIED but genuinely heartfelt TRUTHS to come out that just might bring about transformation, unanticipated connection, or much required restoration of harmony. The film’s finale plays this out wonderfully and in a way that DOES make sense rather than just feeling like some pat ending.
ALL of this is played out primarily through, I felt, dark as well as some straightforward comedic instances but the narrative doesn’t sacrifice the seriousness of the greater situations and/or messages brought about, making it the ideal balance of morality tale and absurdity for contemplation and, as stated earlier, sheer entertainment. What likewise struck me IS still the overt relevancy of the thematic paths the film takes on within the madness, as mainly it’s the cautionary exploration of just HOW damaging secrets can be, eroding not only ourselves, but any others caught up in the cascade effect they can summon forth, leading to anger, guilt, shame, confusion, separation, and jarring inward hurt. Yet, as hinted at above, it can ALSO be the RELEASE we’ve needed, unburdening ourselves, and watching how the honesty (even if–helped along–as the film hilariously chooses to do here) can end up providing liberation, a mirror of ourselves and what needs to CHANGE to become BETTER from it. We would hope it doesn’t come to the kinds of extremes being imagined in the film’s scenario, but it IS the kind of grander, provocative circumstances we really should heed and be far more aware of when it comes to the associations with ourselves and others, understanding how our decisions and actions DO go beyond JUST us.
Vinall is a beautifully presented mix of boisterous energy, defined vulnerability, frenetic panic, and simply, wonderfully witty and dramatic focus through her role here as Abbie, a wife on the verge of a full mental breakdown as she both prepares for a housewarming party while being not so enthused with her husband whose dutifully running late as guests begin to knock. Trying to hold herself together as things get into full swing, a sudden realization that a certain guest has imbibed something he should not have sets off events that will push Abbie even further to her limits–while finding out plenty of things she may, or may NOT, have wished to know because of it. Will she find the fortitude to bear with it, NOT completely collapse, and perhaps even see an initially improbable rekindling of connection? Vinall so believably embodies a state of emotional turmoil, fully maintaining it throughout the film, and winning us with her delivery and controlled angst.
Coyle adeptly projects the attitudes and actions of a character who you certainly want to hate from the start and aren’t yet sure whether he’s worth redeeming or not though his role as Abbie’s husband Matt, a man who’s not only running late to he and his wife’s housewarming party, but makes it known (just to US at first) that the main REASON he’s behind isn’t so gentlemanly of him. Trying to calm his frantic Abbie over the phone, by the time he DOES arrive, things have already gone seriously south, and Matt finds himself as a mediator but also in the hot seat as well. It’s a direct and somewhat understated performance that still speaks volumes to the situations Matt ends up in due to the events occurring, and Coyle navigates the character through with apropos degrees of emotive purpose and strength, again causing us to wonder exactly WHICH house Matt might end up in–his own–or the dog’s!
Gadd deftly chews and steals quite a bit of scene and screen time through his portrayal of Jimmy, an undeniable CAD who already possesses a demeanor and approach to social situations that should have warranted him getting accosted by every other person at the party for being an all-consuming, well, CAD. But, when his poking his nose around Abbie and Matt’s home turns into a discovery he chooses to exploit, the ensuing mayhem it brings might just be the BEST medicine for HIM, though still quite questionable about the benefit to anyone ELSE in attendance. Sophie Kennedy Clark plays Vera, Abbie’s best friend and someone who really didn’t have a filter BEFORE the turn of events that makes her confess a wealth of other thoughts that are jocular but also potentially hurtful to someone very close to her, even as she seems to STILL want to defend her best friend in a way that DOES make sense based on what is being disclosed. Clark’s performance is another note worthy one here, as her comic timing and general, hysterically snarky conduct as the character is priceless.
Danny Ashok is Ben, a great friend of the couple who is first to arrive and might be the first to leave once things get dicey, yet ends up with the possibilities of a newly forming connection he might never have had had it not been for the unfolding activities and the cause of them. Umi Myers is Sandy, a–friend–of Matt’s who most assuredly gets FAR more truths coming from and at her than she would have ever expected at the party, but could also end up in a fresh place due to it all. Miranda Beinart-Smith plays Vera’s daughter Roni who learns a bit more about her mother than she would have desired. Additional supporting appearances are made by Richard Lintern, Lawrence Russell, Darren Way, Eve-Yasmine Saoud-Easton, Emilia Karlsson, Tarek Hashish, Ben Gardner Gray, Anna Fraser, James Flunder, Zoe Armer, Joe Bishop, Joanne Clifton, and Julia Westcott-Hutton. So, in total, “Truth Serum” stands tall as a magnificently executed comedy and public service announcement about the perils of scientific experiments managing to get out (unintentionally, I know, but still folks…) and into the hands of others who would then create disorder while most importantly teaching us that hiding truths doesn’t build trust or serenity between people and maybe we should just look to BE honest up front, admit our foibles, and be better for it.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
