This Closeness

Rich in tension and feeling, This Closeness is a study on intimate relationships and prejudices that follows Tessa (Kit Zauhar) and Ben (Zane Pais), a young couple, staying at the home of Adam in Philadelphia (Ian Edlunda) for Ben's high school reunion.

Written, directed, and starred by Kit Zauhar, this is her sophomore feature, and, like her previous one, Actual People from 2021, it is a microbudget. It takes advantage to the utmost of its limitations by thematically focusing on a concept that easily interpellates by its universality. Being a guest at somebody else's home is something more common than ever due to technology and the use of applications like Airbnb, but nonetheless it is one of those things that somehow you never get used to in the sense of finding comfort in the presence of strangers. Trust is at the heart of this, considering we are talking about people we don't know who, for a given time, will share with us the same place. What might be considered normal for someone might not be for the other, something that makes us more aware than ever of manners and mores. By framing the story in a setting like this, Kit Zauhar manages not only to explore themes of intimacy regarding individuality and romantic relationships, but also give it contrast with someone whose life might seem to differ from the reality a couple experiences. There is an active search for differentiation in the portrayals of the couple and their host. From minor aspects like posture, light preference, edibles, and beverage, to major ones in relation to social life and perceived image, e.g., Ben is conveyed as an extrovert, confident, and good-looking, while Adam as an introvert, socially awkward, and considered non-hegemonic.

Walls as thin as these offer little escape to unintentional eavesdropping. Reasons that make tension rise as the movie progresses. Sound, for this reason, constitutes a nexus in their lives, if only unwanted. A weekend where idiosyncrasies surface from the depths and confront the other as peculiar, making many situations humorous by their relatable nature but at the same time sad by reason of how prejudice blooms when not in public. It is interesting how people cease to be in terms of personhood while being the object of the other's gaze. How we tell ourselves that what the others might think is of no importance to us, while we act in certain ways to convey the image we want, an image not born out of ourselves, but by the other's scrutinization and opinion of us.

Zauhar is interested in exploring how fragile people are in relation to how they are perceived. From acting in ways to communicate how manly they are, to opting for uncalled jealousy owing to unresolved teenage wounds about body image and self-love, the film is a constant intimate display of human behavior. The past is a vehicle for Zauhar to explore identity construction. In the movie, by reason of Ben's high school reunion, there is dialogue around school days, and it opens up an interesting idea about their nature as a possible façade for immaturity by reason of the importance someone might give to them. A line between someone who, at least part of them, still lives or is socially invested in the past and someone who sees that period as a transition and therefore something finalized is illustrated to explore deeper feelings and meanings.

The movie is performed with such precision, embedded in dialogues that strike for their naturalness, that many times it feels like a voyeuristic experience, making This Closeness worth watching.

Ah I miss the discussion board on IMDB where we can argue about the plot points and all that. I watched this movie alone so there was nobody to go have pie with to discuss the movie and in particular the ending.

This movie reminded me a lot of Zauhar's debut movie Actual People. This had a similar indie vibe for sure but this one was more subdued and nuanced.

Overall I would say I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. If you've dated a woman like this, who is easily jealous and then does stuff that is very questionable in a relationship then you'll understand!

Without ruining anything I would say if you're considering this movie then go for it. It's a solid 7 indie production and will make you think a bit.

As for the ending - it's pretty clear to me what is about to happen! You'll have to get there yourself to see what I mean. If you know you know lol.

This accidentally turned out to be one of my top three films in 2024. It's the kind of film you can watch many times.

What stood out was how accurately the director captured awkwardness. The young, hipster vibe in how Tessa first spoke to the host Adam was very funny, in an unfunny way. The Americans' forced friendliness and eagerness to please were just too familiar. Just when it's about to turn cringey, it became refreshing as we get to see more sides to each character.

There's so much unpleasantness-the underwear, the tone-deaf boyfriend, the painful therapy session-that I'm almost embarrassed to say I find it amusing. I know you're not supposed to like what you're seeing, but in a way I'm happy to see people on screen experiencing a more forceful quiet angst than I am ever capable of experiencing.

Tessa is an interesting character. She's not exactly likeable as she tries too hard to please-her work is about distantly, physically pleasing people. I think that says a lot about her. She wants to be correct and self-aware, and you get the feeling that she's probably 'too witty' but never bold, which is why she suffocates herself and likely those around her. Instead of actual closeness with others, she needs ASMR as a boundary. Instead of actual closeness with herself, she needs a therapist as a facilitator. This is very clever. Adam is supposed to be awkward and unlikeable, we're told explicitly, but he turns out to be very relatable due to how raw he is. The least likeable of all is actually Sam, who, I think is the sort you actually see the most in real life. Disloyal, shallow, and ultimately plain.

This film has all the good elements: characters with depth, right pacing, and angst that's low key enough that you can swallow and even enjoy.

I saw it on MUBI and really hope to see a bluray release!

Interesting storyline.

Overall, liked it.

Could have been alot better with a bigger production team, & at least an assist from an experienced Writer.

Did not likes the holes.

Too much unexplained.....

• Characters clearly had defining pasts, but very little was given.

• The 'mystery friend'.

• Tessa having issues with Lizzie, then Poof, all good. Next scene, with no context, Tessa gives her a head massage & gets pretty touchy, while Lizzie sits like she's doped up, or hypnotized.

No context, no explanation.

Where was this going?

Just a random scene that made no sense.

• The meek little host suddenly has a date, out of nowhere, & switches to confident stud-mode. Why was the girl all weirded out in the morning. Nothing happened, other than her butt hurt real bad. (don't worry, no spoilers here.)
• Boyfriend's role was weird & unlikable.

(coulda just been the acting)

• The Ending...

My worst movie pet-peeve!

The vast majority of movie-goers hate the 'artsy' Schitt. Save it for drama class. Not everybody wants to sit around & 'let's duscuss' afterward.

When an entire film is intended to be nothing but Atrsy BullSchitt that makes no sense..., fine, there's a small fanbase for that. Sneaking in 'artsy' scenes in a regular movie is just frustrating.

Whether a movie is awesome, or so-do, why the hell would you wanna ruin all the time, effort & work, then destroy it all at the end? Cuz that's all anybody is gonna remember. Makes no sense.