Houseplants
Familiar Faces
•
10-Sep-2018
On their first day living together, a young couple experiences ghosts from their past. “Houseplants,” from director Prashanth Kamalakanthan, is an elliptical drama that glimpses into the private life of Alma and Ron, a struggling couple on a vulnerable day. Over time, your partner changes and you change too, says Ron as he unloads boxes from the moving truck, “so the question is: who are you in love with?” As the day progresses, Ron starts to slip into visions of his past, exacerbated by heavy drinking. It's a film that favors atmosphere over exposition, and one that benefits from a tremendously compelling cast, including Zazie Beetz, David Rysdahl, Sophie Traub and Lio Mehiel. With its hazy stylistic flashes and indeterminate movements through time, the film registers as a mysterious tone poem, evocative and fleeting, and boosted by beautiful 16mm visuals courtesy of Jomo Fray, one of the most best young D.P.’s working in the current low-budget sphere. (See also: “Get Out Fast” and “Modern Love”).
Written, Directed, and Edited by Prashanth Kamalakanthan. Produced by Ernest Gold and Ria Tobaccowala. D.P. Jomo Fray. Production Designer: Ntokoze Kunene. Costume Designer: Jessica Harrison.
Up Next in Familiar Faces
-
Rachel
An awkward guest shows up to a party and makes things weird for everyone. Written by Kate Berlant, Andrew DeYoung and John Early, “Rachel” is a hilariously creepy portrait of a strange evening in the lives of a group of L.A. creatives. Early stars as the man throwing a party for his boyfriend, Go...
-
Holy Moses
A peculiar miracle binds together a pregnant nun in 1960s Ireland and a West Texas gas station attendant 25 years later. Eli Powers writes and directs “Holy Moses,” a stark fable told in two parts about a pair of individuals forced to reckon with what they have witnessed, and what it all means. I...
-
Bev
A very unfunny family history is spun into brilliant comedy from co-directors Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik. They begin with a doozy of a premise and keep pushing. When it all comes together, it feels like a wallop, but it’s largely packaged as a deadpan farce about a group therapy session. Bev is...
