THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Robert Machoian (15, 85 mins)
A pared-back drama that bristles with tension, this is a startling story of a marriage in trouble told in static shots amidst a wintry backdrop. Clayne Crawford plays David, who in a disconcerting opening sequence stands over his wife and new lover holding a gun as his kids wake up in another room. He and his wife Nikki, played by Sepideh Moafi, have separated to try and work things out between them.
Married fresh out of high school, they have four children: eldest girl Jess (Avery Pizzuto), a teen who feels the weight of the break up, and three mischievous boys played by Arri, Jonah and Ezra Graham. Crawford is trying his best, but the emotions are seething beneath the surface.
The camerawork by Oscar Ignacio Jimenez is stunning, capturing the turmoil and the brutal beauty of the rural setting, filmed in a sparse Utah. Writer/director Machoian’s debut feature is lean and engrossing, the documentary maker capturing a fantastic chemistry between the family members, especially between Crawford and the children, the fallout of marital problems and the shattering mental toll. Told from the husband’s viewpoint, it consistently wrongfoots the viewer as Crawford’s struggling dad pursues his wife’s lover Derek (Chris Coy) in his truck after bumping into him at the local store, observing him trying to ingratiate himself with his daughter whilst having a date night with his wife.
The story simmers, occasionally boiling over thanks to a taut, economic script. Masculinity with all its foibles is presented with a dexterous skill, that feels like a filmed short story from the bastard child of Raymond Carver, Frank Bill and Donald Ray Pollock. The Killing Of Two Lovers maintains a humanity throughout, you care deeply for the characters, brilliantly played by the cast in a suffocating drama that haunts and resonates.
Released in cinemas and via Curzon Home Cinema on Fri 4 June
words KEIRON SELF