“Somewhere Quiet” by no means has a loud message, and that’s simply one of many many misuses of an excellent idea and haunting solid that plagues the would-be psychological thriller. The characteristic film, written and directed by Olivia West Lloyd, stars Jennifer Kim as Meg, a girl who lately escaped a kidnapping and is making an attempt to acclimate again to regular life together with her husband Scott (Kentucker Adler).
Since Scott’s household comes from outdated cash, Meg was held at ransom for months till she managed to flee her kidnappers. But Scott’s suggestion for Meg’s leisure includes bringing her again out right into a distant setting, care of his household’s outdated seashore home. Throw in his leering cousin Madeline (a deliciously unhinged Marin Eire) and Meg is immediately a 3rd wheel in yet one more tense setting.
Is she simply jumpy or is Scott controlling? Are Madeline’s flirtations with each Scott and Meg fueled by her fetishization of Meg’s Korean heritage? Scott’s household has framed images of missionary work in Korea, and Scott retains sleepwalking over to the place the pictures are. Meg continues to have nightmares that query Scott’s motives for retaining her remoted, however the racial part isn’t totally addressed, neither is Meg’s rising paranoia amid her apparent PTSD.
Her solely interplay with somebody outdoors of Scott’s household is with handyman Joe (Micheál Neeson) who warns her about trespassing on the property, earlier than he realizes that she is actually married to one of many Whitmans who personal many of the surrounding land. Nonetheless, Meg can’t even belief Joe, as her suspicions as to Madeline’s true identification and Scott’s attainable involvement in her kidnapping throw her sense of stability into disarray.
Author-director Lloyd was a manufacturing supervisor on “Shirley,” the Shirley Jackson biopic starring Elizabeth Moss. The indie “do extra with much less” strategy to horror is clear in “Someplace Quiet,” as Meg begins to search out clues that her nightmares usually are not actually desires in any respect. But, the movie doesn’t go deep sufficient into any of the various compelling themes it presents within the first act, and as an alternative audiences are left with a handy Lifetime thriller of the week-esque conclusion that too neatly sums up what might have been a haunting portrayal of colonization, delusion, wealth, and the deconstruction of house amidst trauma.
Ranking: B-
“Someplace Quiet” premiered on the 2023 Tribeca Movie Competition. It’s presently in search of U.S. distribution.
