Homewrecker sneaks up on you with satire then goes full bore into Fatal Attraction mode as two women wrestle with their inner demons. Few films succeed in mixing sledgehammer violence with childish board games. But this little indie connects solidly, revealing everything that could go wrong in a seemingly innocuous meetup. Drawing on the strength of two skilled actors, the film succeeds where others like it may have faltered.
Right off the bat, we get the feeling that something’s not right in the ‘home fires’ when newlywed Michelle’s (Alex Essoe) texts are ignored by her husband. She needs a friend to talk to. Someone like matronly Linda (Precious Chong)—NOT.
Linda ‘accidentally’ runs into Michelle after sharing several fitness classes with her. Asking a string of personal questions accompanied by loony stares, Linda’s off-kilter personality foreshadows what’s to come. Not since Misery’s Frances Sternhagen has a villain been so deliciously portrayed, moving from nosey to nasty to dangerously neurotic.
Michelle, vulnerable and unable to deal with confrontations, accepts Linda’s invitation to help redecorate her house. Linda, we sense, is too far gone to read Michelle’s obvious facial clues and tepid refusals. So mistake number one: don’t go into a crazy woman’s house.
As the two personalities unravel, we get a glimpse into the internal tumult in both women. Linda has been lied to and rejected far too often, so often in fact that she’s willing to accept an open relationship with someone she’s been seeing. And Michelle can’t seem to summon the courage to confront her husband and her deteriorating relationship with him. Both women are in need of some serious head shrinking; though Linda, it seems, has already passed the ‘gone postal’ stage.
Writer/director Zach Gayne plays both women against each other tautly, relying on suppressed emotions that boil to the surface. Compassionate hugs of female camaraderie give way to deadly hide-and-seek episodes, knives-out bursts, and swinging sledgehammers. The question you find yourself asking is, who will bloody who the most?
Chong does an admirable job as a neighborly friend off her Zoloft. She portrays a smarmy ‘let’s be pals’ affection as subtext for a malignant rage just waiting to surface. Whether it’s watching TV together or playing a dating board game, Linda exists in a world that’s clearly outside of reality. When she comes down to the real world, it’s fascinating to watch the transition. Much like her house, Linda’s mind is a disheveled mess of treasured keepsakes and junk.
Essoe’s dramatic range is put to good use in portraying a weak-minded woman who must change to survive. As Linda torments her both physically and mentally, Michelle’s ‘wolf rises’ to overcome both Linda and her own insecurities. It’s a chrysalis that warrants applause and relief in anyone who’s ever been bullied.
Gayne’s direction is spot on, delivering a tightly wound film that never lags in pacing. He carefully ratchets up the tension, one nerve at a time, drawing us into the lives of two flawed characters. Without descending into melodrama, he adroitly captures the essence of females struggling to find meaning in their lives. The ending is brutal, cataclysmic, and satisfying.
