In what feels like something of the director telling Willem Dafoe to be himself, not only do we get something similar of The Lighthouse, but something that feels real & personal.

Knowing that this was wrapped a few years ago, it is probably easy to assume that the pandemic played a part in the making of this, which is truly the film’s biggest compliment. What the film manages to do so well is to pull you into the madness of being trapped against your will in a place by yourself. I couldn’t help but to think that they were similarities to the Ryan Reynolds’ starring role, Buried, a film I belove very much.

Dafoe is truly tremendous in this role though. Like I said before – this does feel familiar to his role in The Lighthouse. The difference here being that he has to really do this on his own, with the exception of really only talking to people that he sees on the TV, but others don’t see him. Really reminds me of how we turned to film & TV during the pandemic. I know I keep mentioning the pandemic, but I am really glad that this movie plays into the severity of being trapped inside. Why it’s so important to get out. Why it’s important to be mindful of our actions, otherwise, our own entrapment can be our own doing. I also really appreciate the themes of how Dafoe’s character reminiscing on the past and what lead him to this place.

The first half is probably the strongest. After that, I begin to feel the redundancy and couldn’t help but to think that this may have been better as a short film. The last 15-20 minutes really save the movie and caps off the movie’s message. We, the audience, only see this area that Dafoe is trapped in, making it feel like we were right there with him. The cinematography plays into the action of what Dafoe does. From placing the camera on a moving table to focusing on certain imagery while the action is elsewhere, the film masters the art of making us be right there with the character.

Overall, I believe this would have worked even better as a short. There is a lot of great themes throughout this; however, due to its runtime, I am not sure if this will be for everyone, so I can’t help but to think that this could have played a little differently to appeal to bigger audience. Other than that, I think if you have the patience to get through this, then hopefully you will see the value that this movie has to offer.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)