WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
The very core of fixation, compulsion, and all-consuming addiction. If we allow ourselves to become so penetratingly preoccupied on what we desire, what becomes the limits of what lengths we might strive for in order to quench the ever-building, frenzied mania that is birthed from it? And once we’ve suddenly found ourselves on that ledge staring into the abyss, will we even have the willpower to pull back, or does the hysteria engulf us to our absolute detriment? The crashing of waves on a pristine beach echoes through the air as the rising sun bathes the form of a young woman named Diana (Delphine Chaneac) as she heads back to the isolated beach house where she and her husband Elliot (Andrew Hovelson) are attempting to reconnect and relax.
Far easier said than done, their already tumultuous time together has reached a boiling point that get only further stoked upon the arrive of the couple’s long lost friend Wesley (Mike Dwyer). Breaking up the atmosphere of tension, or at least attempting to, Wes’ cavalier attitudes and manner easily begin to rattle Elliot and mildly seduce Diana. However, an unanticipated and direly tragic turn of events occurs while Wes and Diana are spending time walking the beach and catching up, bringing into the picture what is to become a horrifying discovery beyond natural reason that sends the trio into a spiral of all-encompassing madness that threatens to push them all to the brink to ensure only they and no one else will ever find the secret they’ve uncovered. Yet, will it end up benefitting or destroying them forever?
Next, my Mind:
It’s no holiday at the beach but rather a dark, ominously haunting exploration of obsession’s most raw, primal forms when it comes to the concepts of broken love, misplaced infatuation, and our own selfish desires to possess that which benefits us alone, allowing nothing to get in our way, all while trying to find belief and justification that the notion of “if I could do it all over again” is the ultimate resolution for far more complex and deep-seeded internal and interpersonal troubles. Quickly paced and leaving little room for any doubt of what harrowing intentions the narrative has in store, the film hurdles along with full-out, relentless momentum and gives us a highly visceral journey each of the character embarks on, both personally and between the others, as the twisted tale unfolds, adding a beautifully crafted preternatural/supernatural bend that actually suits the events to a “T”, becoming the primary catalyst that leads the characters into the void that swallows them and sends them all reeling into a warped vision of buried emotions that have been simmering for years and are now forced to the surface, manifesting in angry, violent ways.
What makes thematic elements like this so unsettling, at least to this critic, is that it makes us look at ourselves as human beings and have to realize what iniquity burns within when we choose to not deal with painful or unrequited passions, past or present, and that they don’t lead to anything good by allowing them to remain hidden until triggers come forth that burst the dam. Here, it is a warped mix of unreturned love and the absence of love that creates the schisms between the trio involved, past wounds festering and being reopened, all arising, emerging, and acted out in increasingly disturbing ways. By the time the film reaches its finale, the sheer voracity of their irrationality is a palpable, tangible, vividly influential force that can only lead to the equally shocking and yet eerily understandable conclusion it does. It’s the facets of our overall nature we don’t want to face or acknowledge, and this alone makes the execution of this tale that much more impactful and jarring. You will certainly never look at the coast, lone beach homes, and isolated tidal pools that same way ever again, that is a guarantee.
Belying the insanity that is to come (and is soon S.O.P for a majority of the film), we are treated to the gorgeous cinematography from Roy Rossovich that highlights some of the scattered moments of serenity via vistas of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, specifically Corolla I believe, with its sunrise and sunsets, ocean waves, smooth beaches, and general air of peace. Overall, the film’s visual presentation is solid, following the action with total designs on highlighting in clear detail three people’s descent into illogicality. Likewise, the music score here from composer Frank LoCrasto adds the right amounts of apropos ambiance to the proceedings are they unfold, bringing about imagery in the mind of beauty then craziness through the orchestrations chosen for the sequences that feature accompiament. What I love about indie cinema is that for me, it has become much more common to see films that look totally professional in their grander production value, and even if there are elements that might need some minor polishing, I feel even lower budgets don’t prevent these filmmakers from presenting final products that showcase very adept abilities like I feel are demonstrated here.
Perhaps most known to North American/Canadian audiences for her role as “Dren” in the 2009 sci-fi effort “Splice”, this was actually my first exposure to French-born actress Delphine Chaneac and she certainly doesn’t disappoint in her turn as Diana, a beautiful, vivacious, flirtatious, sexy young wife of a teacher/writer husband whose “love” for her has clearly faded away into constant states of arguing and belittling her every chance he gets. Yet, Diana seems to hold certain notions of things improving, somewhat manipulating him into making up at least a little. But, things go sideways for her when their mutual friend of years ago, Wesley, shows up, beginning a playfully innocent bout of teasing/sexual tension that goes horribly wrong. But, when that doesn’t end up being, well, the end, Diana initially takes on a more vulnerable and scared demeanor until fully realizing the benefits of what they’ve all stumbled upon. Soon, she isn’t sure whether to accept the new reality, run away from it, or take better advantage of it to work out her own demons, but it all cannot find an end that will be of any benefit. It’s an intensely dynamic character who experiences such a wide-ranging and explosive set of emotional turmoil, and Chaneac delivers full tilt through it all with potent poise and smoldering fierceness that is as alluring as it is frightening as the character’s plight unfolds.
Hovelson, who is no stranger to American TV audiences thanks to appearances in top rated efforts such as “Blue Bloods”, “Shades of Blue”, “FBI”, and “The Blacklist”, fully entertains and presents plenty of bravado in his role as Elliot, a very high-strung, stressed out individual who’s already under enough pressure thanks to his job that having to also stir the pot of discontent with what he pictures as his quarrelsome, overly free-spirited wife only creates more and more animosity between them. Yet, even he seems to find a glimmer of hope for some form of reconciliation in their remote getaway until the arrival of Wesley, who upends everything and right from the start causes more chaos for Elliot than he can endure. But, events taking the turn that they do, Elliot becomes more the first real victim of the discovery they make, doubting and thinking the other two are totally nuts until he finally comes into the realization they have had. Then, Elliot starts to be the one who begins trying to work out exactly what actions they should take and why they need to expose what they’ve found, though the reaction to this is decidedly not what he is seeking. The more he digs in, the worse it becomes, and as he himself begins to sink into the mania gripping them all, there is almost an inevitability of how he will choose, but it doesn’t make it any less unnerving, and throughout, Hovelson embodies the character’s ever-shifting unpredictability with wonderfully controlled vigor and resolve.
Finally, there is the over-the-top, but not needlessly so, rather magnificently effective energy and fire brought to the table by Dwyer, who is also a writer on the film, in his role as Wesley, a completely ego-driven, restless, wild, care-free man whose entered, departed, and re-entered Diana and Elliot’s lives on and off over many years. Choosing to arrive once more to upend the status quo and be the life of the party (much to Diana’s joy??), Wes wastes no time causing a ruckus that Diana finds refreshing and Elliot immediately finds annoying. To make the situation worse, Wesley’s not-so-disguised flirting with Diana only makes Elliot more uptight, even despite Diana somewhat going along with it, whether to spite Elliot or possible lead on Wesley. As Wesley tries to pursue what is slowly becoming more than just a light-hearted playfulness, things take their freakish turns on multiple levels, and he quickly goes unhinged as his mind cannot actually grasp the magnitude and overwhelming weight of what has come about, even through he tries his level best to do so. The more he has his own messed up ideas of how great their situation has become and what it could mean for them all, his explorations to test the limits of their find degrades and disintegrates any sense of normalcy Wesley possessed, and the culmination of his folly is likewise unavoidable. It’s an aggressive, spirited performance by Dwyer who puts it all out there to sell crazy and does it extremely well.
In total, with the understanding this is a highly adult film in its graphic violence, harsh language, and moments of nudity (not totally elements in high amounts that I tend to prefer myself), “Stranger In The Dunes” is still inarguably one well-enacted, acutely extreme journey into the shadowy recesses of the human condition with its portrait of the terminal frontiers we might venture to when pursuing what we want in equally drastic, radically extraordinary conditions. Anyone care to go for a quick dip? Watch and decide for yourself!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
