The husband and wife team of Pi Ware and Susan Kraker prove that you can produce an intriguing psychological drama on a micro-budget with this impressive writing and directorial debut every bit as compelling as the highest quality whodunit one might expect from a big Hollywood studio.
This multi-layered mystery first focuses on Hilary (Mary Thornton) and Soledad (Ronne Orenna), a couple of bohemians cozily bonding in a flophouse on a commune in the desert somewhere outside of Phoenix.
As the story opens, we learn that they've just decided to relocate to Flagstaff, with plans of having Hilary act as agent for Native American artist Soledad. But after packing her portfolio, Soledad discovers that their pick-up truck won't start. So, the determined duo then head over to Hilary's slob of a brother's (Patrick Belton) apartment to borrow his car.
Louis lives in a pig-sty featuring a fetid decor which includes a tie-dyed sheet on a wall, a cock-eyed Abe Lincoln poster, and piles of filth filling every nook and cranny. Luckily, they happen to arrive just in time to prevent Louis from slitting his wrists.
Instead of continuing out of town, Hilary convinces an understanding and alarmed Soledad that they need to stay with her brother, at least until her suicidal sibling is mentally stable again. What ensues is an ever-escalating, sexually-charged game of give-and-take, fueled by alcohol, pot, pills and plenty of selfish manipulation.
Congrats to the cast of virtual unknowns for expertly executing Ware and Kraker's cleverly-crafted script which often seems so sophisticated that it must have been meant for the stage. It's stocked with enough twists to keep any audience on the edge of its seat every step of the way and wondering exactly who's kidding who here. Are the women lesbians and lovers? Is the dysfunctional, co-dependent brother-sister relationship incestuous? Are Soledad and Louis attracted to each other? How these possible permutations will play out in this combustible, claustrophobic pressure cooker is anybody's guess.
A lacerating look at three lives on the edge.
