Our Neighbors Shadow

It's a pleasant surprise to have an indie film turn out to be so riveting. Ordinary-looking actors can become superstars when given a good script and great dialogue. The plot here is convoluted but naturalistic in an amusingly serious way--it's not too far-fetched to believe such contretemps could happen in real life. The presence of the archetypal counselor saves this embroglio from descending into Mexican soap-opera territory and in fact, lifts it into the realm of Jungian psychotherapeutics, where problematic life situations ping off the ivory tower of philosophy and take on the universiality of art. Did l say the dialogue was top drawer--l had to turn the sound up so as not to miss the hidden punch lines ("l didn't know what he did for a living for three years") or ("l used to feel sorry for women who were married to losers"). I laughed out loud more than once. For a low-budget, no-big-Hollywood-stars movie, l was impressed. It demonstrates what you can do with ordinary thespians in a mundane setting if you have an interesting and unusual premise. Kudos to the screenwriter!

I'm not a film critic but I will tell you this is better than most Netflix films, for me it's all about the writing and that's what is so good about this film. It's a mystery and psych thriller, I never knew what would happen next and had my own theories playing out in my head, and the climax of the film was even crazier than anything i was thinking. The film is oddly creepy in a way that's hard to describe. Imagine classics like Jacob's ladder, from the pov of the main character you're not sure what's real yet it all seems realistic, and true to a psych thriller genre it is all something that could really happen to someone. I love films like that.

A movie about nothing that makes you think it's about something by adding suspenseful music. Take away the music and you're pretty much just people watching while waiting at an intersection for the light to change. I found myself feeling anxiety and dread. Then I stopped, looked at what was actually happening on screen and asked myself, 'Why? Nothing is happening.'

Acting is competent but ... one character, in particular, is so over the top as to be cartoonish. Not sure if they're written that way or if it's just ham-handed acting. Either way, it's jarring because it doesn't fit the tone set by other characters/actors.