Cast: Sarah Manninen, Peter Stebbings, Dmitry Chepovetsky
Director: Greg White
Country: Canada
Genre: Thriller
Official Trailer: Here
Editor’s Notes: Separation is currently available on all the major Canadian cable/sat VOD platforms and online with iTunes and Amazon.
There’s a certain stigma attached to Canadian films. Despite being home to such brilliant filmmakers as David Cronenberg, Norman Jewison, James Cameron, and Ivan and Jason Reitman, our film industry is still looked on as being an amateur operation. The general impression remains that we don’t make great films. Having watched Greg White’s Separation, it’s crystal clear why this impression exists.
Separation is stylized as a taught psychological thriller that focuses on the relationship between a husband and wife. The title refers to the impending end of their marriage, but also works as a double entendre describing the loss the two have experienced.
Separation is stylized as a taught psychological thriller that focuses on the relationship between a husband and wife. The title refers to the impending end of their marriage, but also works as a double entendre describing the loss the two have experienced. We meet Liz and Jack (Sarah Manninen and Peter Stebbings), a young couple who have apparently just experienced the trauma of losing a child. They have moved to a house in a small town far away from the fast pace of city life in an attempt to get their lives back on track. Once they’ve settled in they start to have some odd encounters with their new neighbors and the local real estate agent. Liz is on medication and she frequently lapses into dream states where she is forced to face the truth about her dead child. Jack spends far too much time awkwardly and unnaturally smoking or drinking beer and staring out into space. Liz also has many conversations with her mother, who might be living with them, or who might be a ghost. It’s not made clear at all. Just when things aren’t getting interesting a local news channel warns the young couple of a terrifying serial killer on the loose in the area.
None of the actors are able to bring even a spark of life to these so-called people. Any character development we get is limited to the exposition delivered through the ham-fisted script.
This film was bad. There’s no nice way to say it. The plot, such as it is, makes little to no sense. There’s no division between reality and fantasy, and it seemed that at times White was simply tossing elements into the film that he found entertaining or cool. These elements served no purpose in the big picture. It’s unclear who the characters are, what their roles should be, or even what they’re talking about half the time. The acting across the board is stilted and wooden. None of the actors are able to bring even a spark of life to these so-called people. Any character development we get is limited to the exposition delivered through the ham-fisted script.
The screenwriting contains almost every student film cliché you can think of. There are dream sequences, serial killers, and a twist ending. It’s a hack job. The story itself is very simple and could have been done as a ten minute short. There was no need at all to stretch this film to feature length.
The other major issue with this film is that it doesn’t really know what genre it wants to explore. The film is presented as a psychological thriller that focuses on Liz’s depression over losing her baby, but then White tosses in all kinds of fodder that is distracting and unnecessary. When Liz starts seeing demons in the house, and hallucinates that her husband is a zombie that’s when it gets really confusing.
On the positive side, the cinematography, music and editing are all pretty good. White is clearly able to craft a decent visual experience, and his efforts here are to be praised.
Generally speaking this film should be avoided. The story and the acting are as bland as the suburban home where the film was shot. There are no surprises and there is nothing to engage the viewer. Despite an attempt to give the film a powerful finish through the use of a twist ending, the banal build-up makes this effort meaningless.
[notification type=”star”]20/100 ~ PAINFUL. The story itself is very simple and could have been done as a ten minute short. There was no need at all to stretch this film to feature length.[/notification]
