Reading about the concept of Sean Garrity’s Zooey and Adam, I was very intrigued by the writer’s improvisational approach to the art of film-making. This movie was constructed in such a way that the actors themselves did not know the script – rather, they were thrust into situations and are forced to say whatever was on their mind in the context of a given situation. With little budget and no artificial lighting, it is surprising that what resulted was a very authentic approach to the art of film-making and a genuine performance from the lead actors. Though the story was fictitious, it came off as a documentary, embedding the audience in a realism that depicted the inner turmoil of a young couple with excruciating honesty. But then again, what else can we expect from Winnipeg-based Garrity, whose previous films Inertia and Lucid have received national acclaim and skyrocketed Garrity’s reputation as an avant-garde filmmaker in Canada’s independent scene.
The movie follows a young couple who are trying desperately to have a baby but are having no success. One fateful night, they venture out into the woods for a camping trip when they are discovered by a gang of brutes that pick a fight with the couple. One of the gangsters holds Adam (Tom Keenan) down, while the other two proceed to rape Zooey (Daria Puttaert) right in front of Adam’s eyes. The terrible aftershock of this event is further complicated when Zooey realizes she’s pregnant. Since she is worried that she may never again be able to conceive, Zooey decides to keep the baby and Adam reluctantly agrees that the baby’s true parentage doesn’t matter – they decide to raise the child as their own. Adam’s unwilling acceptance of Zooey’s decision to keep the child takes a toll on their relationship and the rest of the movie deals with the ways in which each person copes with the situation they’ve had to endure.
The couple’s on-screen chemistry is indisputable. From the first time that Zooey and Adam blaze onto the screen the audience is captivated by their mutual adoration. This chemistry, combined with the element of spontaneity that the actors achieve through improvisation, makes the unraveling of their emotional ties that much more heartbreaking. The techniques used to emulate this disintegration are unlike any I had previously witnessed. The camera crew is made up of one man – Garrity himself. The lack of professional lighting really does let the viewer focus on the raw emotion of the piece. Garrity also utilizes lack of light to convey the chaos of the rape scene. It is completely shrouded in mystery and darkness, where we see glimpses of Adam, Zooey’s legs, and the perpetrators – all illuminated momentarily by the crackling fire. Certain shots add to the overall feeling of loneliness and inefficacy, like one in which Zooey and Adam are seen walking inside a grocery store from a distance. The industrial atmosphere and vastness of the store echoes Zooey’s emptiness. In the middle of the vastness, she bursts into tears, and through the simplicity of shots such as these, Garrity manages to drive his point across to the viewer.
This emptiness is also echoed in the odd cuts that are made throughout the movie. Seemingly displaced shots are situated side by side to simulate the tumultuous events surrounding the leads. In addition, Garrity does not employ any music in the film, save the opening scene and the credits. This accentuated the awkwardness and slightly alienated me from the story, while simultaneously allowing greater focus on the performances of the lead actors without the added superfluity of music.
This is not to say that the whole movie is a downer that hits one gray note and rolls with it. It is highlighted with moments of hilarity that are made all the more humorous by the excellent casting. Watching Tom Keenan fumble over a pregnancy self-help book while Zooey’s water breaks is an awkward situation that received laughs from the audience. The brilliant striped boxer briefs that he wears as he attempts to solve the problem make the situation all the more light-hearted and entertaining. The early stages of the couples’ love are also charming and funny. Their whimsical love is almost child-like in the sense that dreams reign supreme before the tragedy of Zooey’s rape bursts their bubble. The couple has a hard time realizing that life can’t cater to their eternal optimism.
My only criticism of the movie is that it moved too fast, but I sense this is more of a personal preference. The subject matter is so dense and so controversial, that I felt that more time should have been devoted to certain scenes, particularly the climactic final one which begins and ends rather abruptly. Despite this, the movie is still an avant-garde work that will acquire waves of attention upon its release. Humorous at some moments and frighteningly melancholy at others, Zooey and Adam is infused with an overall ambiguity that I truly enjoyed. Their disintegrating relationship is marked by a twisted hint of mutual understanding towards the end of the film that leaves you wondering what could happen next. Don’t expect to find out the parentage of the child for certain, though there are implications that lean towards one side quite strongly. As a result of this ambiguity, the viewer contemplates the film for hours after watching Zooey and Adam and ultimately realizes that the beauty of the film’s ending rests in the unknown. Zooey and Adam opens in Toronto at The Royal on March 5, 2010.
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