Dir. Emily Bennett & Justin Brooks (2021)
A woman gets ready for her girlfriend to come home, but will there be a home to come back to?
CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Alone With You feels like a vanity project, as films that are written, directed, and starring the same person can often be. It lacks a lot of the scares that it needs to be worth your time, and with only an 80-ish minute runtime, it really should be worth such a short investment. There’s a lot of foreboding, discordant music and lingering shots, but there’s never a payoff for any of it. It should be about building anxiety, but unfortunately we’re left with more irritation than fear, as by the time reality is revealed, we’re not sure that we care anymore.
Barbara Crampton is a nice surprise, and she’s fantastic as always, and I’ve been a huge fan of Dora Madison since Friday Night Lights. To be honest, the acting all around is stellar, including director/actress Bennett. The problem here is that you’ve seen this movie before, probably quite a few times. It’s a pandemic movie, a limited cast connected by video screens, linked by technology but not emotion. There’s just no new ground being broken, and no interesting plot developments through 90% of its runtime. Sadly, when the plot finally reaches a conclusion, it’s one that you more than likely predicted while still in the first act. Unfortunately, due to the chaotic nature in which the ending is presented to the viewer, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re looking at even when it is all revealed.
