Two women befriend each other, but one becomes obsessed with the other.
Zach Gayne’s irreverent treatise on obsession, the dark comedy “Homewrecker,” would have benefited tremendously from dialing down the hysterics a notch or two. There are some witty moments and astute observations in this age-old tale of a psycho luring the object of their infatuation into their net, but the result is so shrill and meandering, it doesn’t quite warrant a recommendation. Too bad, as Gayne’s little chamber piece is led by two committed leads who give it their all.
A young interior designer whose own interior life needs a redesign, Michelle (Alex Essoe) is upset when she gets her period after yoga class – yet another dream of having a child ruptured. She meets Linda (Precious Chong), who immediately comes on strong. “I think you should decorate my house,” she exclaims, upon hearing about Michelle’s occupation. “I’ll pay you double.”
Michelle ends up reluctantly driving with Linda to the latter’s house while being grilled about her marital woes. Things predictably get zanier, as gross-looking cocktails are (or, rather, aren’t) consumed, the girls “talk about relationship, boys, gossip,” and even watch a 1980s movie. “See, I told you, I’m fun!” Linda exclaims to the highly-disturbed Michelle. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues, involving a truth serum (!), plenty of wrestling, giant hammers, board games, a sliced-off tongue, and the unlikely appearance of Michelle’s pansy husband Bobby (Kris Siddiqi).
“Homewrecker” takes a stab at a slew of themes – loneliness/alienation, desperation/obsession, aging/peaking in high school – but doesn’t quite develop them, favoring exposition over insinuation. It’s even less successful at criticizing the current, cell-phone addicted, ADD-addled generation. Who’s to blame for Linda’s maniacal tendencies? At what point (clearly in the 1980s) did the downward spiral begin? Ambiguity can be tantalizing in the right hands, but Gayne manages to both obscure and over-explain.
Precious Chong does what she can with a thinly-drawn character. Talk about commitment. Yelling at people on the streets and calling them c*nts, Linda’s clearly unhinged – especially in those moments when she focuses her crazed, unmoving glare on Michelle. I liked the scene where Linda feels the need to “debrief” after watching a cheesy 1980s flick with Michelle. “What do you think the message was?” she asks. In another impromptu, inspired sequence, Linda delivers a lunatic version of Lisa Loeb’s Stay, looking straight into the camera.
Alex Essoe plays off Chong well, Michelle’s veneer of politeness gradually fading, as fear takes over, and as her own inner demons start to surface. That said, there are moments that strain credulity, such as the scene in which Michelle comes to a personal revelation whilst confessing intimate details to Linda.
Gayne doesn’t shy away from some stylistic embellishments that do little – except admittedly spice-up the mostly-one-location setting. There are close-ups on dissolving pink bath salts, an abundant utilization of the infamous split-screen, the breaking of the 4th wall… Some rough editing and shaky camerawork betray “Homewrecker”’s DIY roots. Again, that would all be forgivable, if the film had a strong plot. Instead, it relies on turning up the volume to get its vague points across.
Available on DVD and Digital July 7th from Uncork’d Entertainment
