Explore the lighter, darker sides of cabin fever
Feeling trapped? These indie titles may help you see things differently
Have you been keeping track of how many times you left the house this week? Now that we are several weeks into the second lockdown and winter is near, for those of us working (or not working) from home, while we may protecting ourselves from COVID-19 we are vulnerable to another pandemic: cabin fever. If you are in lockdown with roommates or a partner, you might be appreciating the company or, on the other hand, you could be feeling trapped. One prescription is to seek solace and meaning in stories where the characters are going through something similar.
Here are six indie pics that are streaming now about being stuck in one place — physically. All these movies were made in a time and place when no one could claim pandemic problems but, remarkably, in 2020 they resonate in a whole new way. There are no prison, classic horror or desert island movies here — in these cases, the characters have chosen to be where they are, until they can’t wait to get the hell out.
“It’s a Disaster” (2013), Tubi TV (free to subscribe)
Do you remember where you were when the first lockdown was announced? What about the second one? This film, written and directed by Todd Berger, will take you back to that moment in time. What if the stay-in-place order meant that you had to stay in place, exactly where you were when it was called? That’s what happens to a group of friends gathering for a couple’s brunch in “It’s a Disaster.” The first third of the story plays out as a perfectly awkward brunch amongst couples — secrets are being kept, gossip is being had and everyone is sizing up Tracy’s (Julia Stiles) latest date, Glenn (David Cross).
After a neighbour arrives to borrow some D batteries for his survival kit, they learn that their lives may be in peril! A dirty bomb has been detonated in downtown L.A. and the orders are to seal the exits and shelter in place. This Sunday brunch may be their last and likely their best. This disaster comedy may not have made a big impact when it was first released, but it will resonate in a whole new way with a 2020 audience who can relate to what it means to be in a bubble.
“Waydowntown” (2000), Encore Plus Channel on YouTube (free to subscribe)
This Canadian cult indie classic directed by Gary Burns nearly plays out as a Canadian Heritage Minute now. After all, who in 2020 would enter into a wager with their friends to see who could stay indoors for the longest period of time — by choice? But in the year 2000 within Calgary’s Plus 15 Network, four friends, Randy (Tobias Godson), Sandy (Marya Delver), Curt (Gordon Currie) and Tom (Fab Filippo) — working in a nondescript office in an indistinguishable building, connected to a system of walkways covering 16 km of Calgary’s downtown clump — readily engage in a contest to see who can remain within the skywalk system without ever stepping outdoors. Their apartments are connected to the maze of walkways as are shops and food courts, so someone can spend a lifetime without ever breathing fresh air. Why? For $10,000 and an odd sense of accomplishment.
“Waydowntown” may seem like a juvenile venture, but this time capsule, recalling a time where people spent most of
their days in fluorescent-lit, window-sealed offices, provides some kind of poetic commentary on our lives then and our lives now. We join these players on day 24 of their game, mostly over an eventful lunch hour. Watch out for a mostly silent performance by Don McKellar as sadly Bradley. And, for a deep cut Carleton University reference. Those in the know will know.
“The One I Love” (2014), Amazon Prime Video
For anyone who is currently isolating from the one they love, try this twirly-whirly fantastical rom-com … wait, maybe it’s a mystery. Or is it a thriller? The impressive directorial debut of Charlie McDowell should be at the top of your watch list. Like so many young lovers who fell fast and hard, only to find themselves, years later, having had the humour drained from their relationship, Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) are, simply put, out of sync.
As a final resort, their unconventional therapist, played reassuringly by Ted Danson, sends the troublesome two away on a retreat, where he
sends all couples who need to “reset the reset button.” He promises that all who have been there before them have returned renewed. Alone and isolated, Ethan and Sophie will figure out if they can be together again. Keep an open mind and be prepared for some serious, post-movie dialogue with your significant other — in sync or not.
“The Lighthouse” (2019), Amazon Prime Video
Upon its release B.C. (before COVID), audiences could only have imagined what it would be like to feel isolated and live one indistinguishable day to another. Directed by Robert Eggers (“The Witch”), this is perhaps not so tall a tale about two 19thcentury lighthouse keepers called Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), who only have each other for company.
Winslow, the novice, suffers the taunts and tirades of the elder Wake in good measure for some time, but when he persists in wondering why he can’t ever be the one to man the beacon, a point of no return is crossed.
The longer Winslow stays at the lighthouse, the looser his grip on reality becomes. Shot in black and white and in a 1.19:1 aspect ratio to visually reflect the confinement of the characters, “The Lighthouse” is a study in what can happen when two men are trapped alone, together, with only wayward shores and whatever lurks in the shadows of their minds to keep them from being idle.
As Dafoe’s old-English-fisherman-accented Wake expounds early on in the film, “Doldrums. Doldrums. Eviler than the devil. Boredom makes men to villains … the only med’cine is drink.”
“What we do in the Shadows” (2014), Kanopy (free to subscribe)
This year, some of you might be seeing more of your roommates than you bargained for. But what if you were damned to live with your roommates for all of eternity? That’s what four vampires are faced with in Taika Waititi’s and Jemaine Clement’s gloriously absurd mockumentary, “What We Do In the Shadows.”
As vampires and flatmates living in Wellington, New Zealand, Vladislav (Clement), Viago (Waititi), Deacon (Jonny Brugh), Petyr (Ben Fransham) and the latest vamp, Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) are just trying to keep up with the times, fit into the nightlife in Wellington and get along. Watch for an especially hilarious performance by Jackie van Beek, who plays Deacon’s familiar and a wantto-be vampire. And a short but memorable appearance by Rhys Darby, who plays an alpha werewolf. With a 96 per cent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this indie comedy has only become more popular in the years after its release. In 2019, FX released a series by the same name with equally favourable ratings. Let the credits roll on this one for some bonus material.
“Beside Still Waters” (2013), Tubi TV
Weekends away with friends can be the best of times, but they can also feel like obligations. In “Beside Still Waters,” childhood friends gather for a cottage weekend to be with their friend Daniel (Ryan Eggold, “New Amsterdam”), shortly after his parents die, for one last great party at his family cottage. After a hard night of drinking and whisky slaps, the light of day sees the cordiality fade away and that’s when the real action begins.
With comparisons to films like “The Big Chill” (available to stream on CTV.ca), this ensemble also includes performances by then up-and-coming talent like “Saturday Night Live’s” Beck Bennett, Brett Dalton (“Agents of S.H.I.E. L.D.”), Will Brill (“The OA”), Erin Darke (“Good Girls Revolt”), Jessy Hodges (“Indebted”), Britt Lower (“Future Man”) and Reid Scott (“Veep”), and marks the directorial debut of Chris Lowell (“GLOW,” “Veronica Mars”). The most enjoyable part of “Beside Still Waters” is not watching the party go down, but realizing that each character has a different interpretation of what occurred the night before.