GLASSHOUSE *** South Africa 2021 Dir: Kelsey Egan. 97 mins
The film is often a product of the society it is produced from. GLASSHOUSE (2021) comes from South Africa, which has undergone a seismic change in the last forty-plus years. The subtle film with the emphasis on slow burn style and story brings the idea of truth, self and identity with the horrid notion that we are all replaceable.
GLASSHOUSE (2021) is not a post-apocalyptic zombie plague film, which is refreshing as that genre has been done to undeath. The story is simple, you have a family all superbly played by an ensemble of actors Bee the eldest daughter (Jessica Alexander), Evie (Anja Taljaard), Daisy (Kitty Harris) and Gabe (Brent Vermeulen). They all live in a glass Victorian conservatory presided over by their mother (Adrienne Pearce). The family must wear masks when outside as breathing the air will manifest the disease. Their world is one of a pioneer existence making do with crops, simple clothes and an abiding wish that the long-lost brother Luca will return. Each take turns at sentry duty meaning that anyone who tries to enter the compound is shot and their body is harvested for fodder for the soil and a ritual.
The ritual takes place each time a passerby is killed as sort of we will remember them and they have lost their way. Into this world comes a stranger (Hilton Pelser) who is previously wounded and not killed and nursed to health by the family. The mother states that they will not have idle mouths so when well The stranger is put to work. Who is this stranger and why was he saved is a question the film asks. During convalescence, the stranger seduces the eldest Bee resulting in her becoming pregnant. The sibling rivalry between the older sister is exposed. Gabe who is a victim of The Shred as a result of Evie’s neglect in the past is prone to outbursts. The magic, the memories the stranger invokes in the family and the stirring of physical pleasure become the plot as it drives slowly towards a realization. The realization of choice, of comfort in memories and a betrayal of the identity of family members.
GLASSHOUSE (2021) is skillfully directed for the mood of the story with great use of sweeping pans of the countryside and the magnificent glasshouse interior and exterior. The actors dressed somewhat in the style of The Handmaid’s Tale which is what reminded me that it is a female-controlled world where the male intrudes to set a new status quo.
GLASSHOUSE {2021) will not keep you on the edge of your seat if your taste is gore-filled, shaky hand-held gun battle and explosions. Instead, you are introduced to a world where morals are theirs since no memory from the outside world can be referenced. Daisy believes a horse to be small and cannibalistic until the stranger draws her a picture of one and later a wooden sculpture. Gabe tries to assemble the sculpture but cannot and becomes violent in frustration.
The film’s opening sets the tone with a long zoom showing just how isolated the Glasshouse is in the Universe to a pastoral scene of mist and meadow to be shattered by a gunshot and a body being dragged. GLASSHOUSE (2021) works as a fable even a fairy tale of memory loss and replacement that works on many levels.
Review by Terry Sherwood
GLASSHOUSE is out now on Amazon