The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us
It doesn’t occur very often, and in this current age of clichéd cinema almost never. But every once in a while I will be screening a film – savoring every kernel of that perfectly flavored popcorn – and once the ending reel hits and the credits roll, I instinctively yell in an octave far too high for a grown ass man: ‘What the hell just happened?!’
Welcome to “Observance”.
The film starts off relatable enough, as we follow Parker (Lindsay Farris, carrying the role with disjointed delirium) – a private investigator struggling to overcome personal turmoil – into a dingy apartment steeped in decadent character and seedy choices. His job is to sit in his dire surroundings and observe the beautiful woman across the way. Watch and record everything she does, for the entirety of seven days, and report back to his ominous client with the details. Seems like a fairly by-the-numbers twisting of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and De Palma’s “Body Double”, right? Maybe even throw in a few hauntingly Cronenberg-esque dream sequences just to round things out?
If only things were this simple. Something sinister is going on here, and the more time Parker spends watching his target, the more disoriented and sickly he becomes. Who is she, why is he watching her, what does each fraction of detail he learns actually mean? Parker is trapped in an elevator leading straight into madness. At one point in the film, Parker vomits up a black goo thick enough to chase even Fox Mulder out of this apartment and into the next zip code, but mounting legal bills and a fractured psyche lock Parker’s footing firmly in place. There are 7 days to this job, and he means to see it through.
I would love to elaborate on the details, to focus in on the complexities of “Observance” or what I think the answers are, but I simply refuse to. The very reason this film works is because you have no idea where any of it is headed, nor what any of it means. I am not claiming this to be a cinematic revelation along the lines of “Memento”, just that this is one of the more engrossing films I have experienced this year.
Director Joseph Sims-Dennett knows he has a hard task in front of him, keeping a film engaging while focused primarily on one character in a solitary location is a brutal task to accomplish. Sims-Dennett has a very distinct vision for this film, and he trusts both his actor and the simplistic setup to carry his audience through. He also employs a beautiful sound design lush with ambient sounds and unnerving undercurrents. On more than one occasion, a chill attacked the spine of my hardened film cynic shell, which is a great compliment in this day and age of screeching overtures and wailing teenage victims in the world of horror.
This brash confidence shows through the film’s final notes, as I was left with my aforementioned scream. Days later, I am still uncertain exactly what happened nor can I decide if this is exhaustingly manipulative or structured genius. There are elements to the story that do not quite add up, and hints of pretentious artistry can be found as you peel through the layers of the obscurity found in a few prominent scenes. Yet, what I also know is that when those credits rolled, I had an instant, guttural reaction and here I am, days later, still in the throes of contemplation.
Seriously, what the hell just happened?!
Observance is now available on blu-ray, DVD, and through Vimeo OnDemand
Starring Lindsay Farris, Stephanie King
Written by Joseph Sims-Dennett, Josh Zammit
Directed by Joseph Sims-Dennett