WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
We’ve heard many a time that no parent should outlive their child. The sense of emptiness left in the wake of such a loss is beyond words, and grief is a potent, unforgiving, and, if allowed, relentless adversary to overcome. Without the level of support, or the openness to receive it, that’s necessary, one’s mind and actions could take on directions we might have never conceived possible. Ben (Stephen Wight) and Carol (Rachel Shenton) confront this precise reality after having lost their precious daughter Jess (Madeleine Mckenna). But while Carol is attempting to reconcile with Ben while fighting her own sorrow, he has chosen to take a different route to “heal”–and it could spell an even darker exploration of not just inward agony, but the absolute dangers of technology and all it continues to provide us the means to create.
Next, my Mind:
One of the most creatively adept pairings showcasing heartbreaking circumstances and ominously unsettling revelations that I’ve personally seen depicted in a short film recently, this fantastically orchestrated 17-minute effort from highly prolific, UK-based production house Slick Films, director/producer Chris Overton, writer/producer James Spillman, producers Rebecca Harris-Turner and Rachel Shenton, along with executive producers Peter Bauer, Dylan Dejahang, Cameron Dejahang, Ali Farahani (who pulls triple duty as Cinematographer and Editor to boot!), Delphino Huang, Charles ‘Tad’ Marburg, and Mustapha Wehbi, plus co-executive producers Premila Puri and Tommy Clarke manifests and morphs into something akin to an abbreviated episode of Netflix’s eerily relevant “Black Mirror”, delivering the same shock value and frightening punch while maintaining a stirringly tense dramatic framework and foundational premise that resoundingly echoes our current, technologically-reliant society. Folks, mourning and creepiness ultimately reign supreme here to excellent, intentional, thought-provoking impact as it’s both imagination and all-too-real truth being conveyed.
Having just come off a recent screening at the prestigious 2023 HollyShorts Film Festival (the second of THREE shorts Slick Films offered!) the film offers a narrative which focuses on a married, but now embattled and separated couple reeling over a devastating loss and the ramifications it has upon them, more so explored specifically in relation to the husband’s choice of coping mechanisms, the film finds its roots in the melancholy-rich environment the main theme elicits while trying to have the viewer deeply empathize with the two primary characters in question as one would expect given all that has occurred to them. And make no mistake, you ARE most assuredly feeling their anguish and sense of utterly elusive hope that they can reconcile things within themselves, much less with each other–but that’s EXACTLY what they need IS each other in a time of such overtly volatile emotional states of being. It is a firmly presented study of holding tightly to imagery and memory of that which is now gone, trying to believe that it can somehow can be enough to absorb and process the disbelief and agony of loss and grief being experienced.
But, the forays into all this doesn’t remotely cease there. Thematic tangents associated with grief like seeking counseling, anger, blame and perceived fault, fear, disconnection from reality while trying to substitute it with something (in this case) far more disturbing, desperate rationalization of our decisions, pushing away those who wish to help, isolation, and the consequences of secrets being kept are all very prevalent throughout the film as well, steering us towards a finale that is just compellingly jarring in its disclosure, definitively sticking with you well after the film is over. It’s pure artistic writing and filmmaking magic at work. The manner in which the film is shot also contributes in spades to the effectiveness of what’s being witnessed, leading us through with deceptively uncomplicated visuals that enhance and deftly promote the necessary atmosphere here without remotely giving anything away other than, at least for this critic, to certain degrees of conjecture perhaps. But the key moment in the third act is just plain divine in both its suddenly unnerving imagery and sheer intensity of the moment.
Wight captivates here via utilizing the style of acting that I simply cannot help but mention so consistently in reviews involving indie films–that style being proficiently understated in one’s delivery while still providing the needed magnitude of fervent drive and credible, apropos vigor to the character as well in order that we still tangibly FEEL the underlying emotional quotient being displayed. This occurs here through his role as Ben, half of a couple who’ve just lost their child and are now endeavoring to settle their heartbreak. Ben has chosen, however, to become thoroughly separated from both his equally long-suffering wife and the world at large, finding supposed solace in videos of the past joys he had with his family when it was whole. However, even as Ben sinks further into this “actuality”, it soon becomes apparent that all it not what it might seem, and the endgame he’s falling towards will shake everything around him to the core.
It’s a sobering, disconcerting, and alarming reveal, and how Wight takes the character through such an unstable state of being by subtlety, facial expression, and body language as opposed to conspicuously agitated behavior is a true credit to the actor’s performance, as it still illustrates both deep torment and his troubled mindset so well. On a different level but still with a similar degree of sincerely impassioned energy, Shenton radiates fully believable and emotively-charged depth through her performance as Carol, the other half of the couple in crisis. Her own means of coping seems to be ultimately constructive in at least showing a willingness to engage with other people, accept their condolences, and make very direct choices to try and reconnect with Ben as they very much require the mutually shared love and support. But, with his reluctance to acknowledge her, she has wrenching agony as well to deal with when the reality of what’s happened rises up as it so often does with loss such as this.
But, nothing prepares her for the discovery awaiting her upon an unannounced visit to Ben and it will more than redefine their whole relationship moving forward. Shenton navigates these harshly fluctuating emotional waves with grace and poise so as not to allow it to seem forced or overacted. Rather, the actress pulls you in and also makes you tangibly experience her character’s broken yet ever-so-delicately-hopeful mentality that gets a shattering reality check. Supporting appearances are made by the adorably sweet McKenna as the couple’s daughter Jess who is that beautiful example of childhood innocence lost, Joanna Gently as the couple’s therapist, Radiance Anelle, Sue Maund, Rebecca Easen, and Willow Bartlett whose KEY part here is just stunning in its context thanks to the narrative’s direction. So, in total, “In Too Deep” is a SERIOUSLY cautionary tale about the dangerously dominant forces of both grief and technology, especially with the latter in that it can offer far too many chances to augment reality in hopes of escaping pain or truly face what we need to, and certainly, decisively demonstrates that appearances can terribly deceiving.
STAR RATING: (out of 5)
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
