This Closeness

Tessa and Ben, a couple whose relationship is not going well, rent a room in the apartment of a man called Adam for a weekend in Philadelphia. Adam keeps to himself and rarely leaves the flat, and finds himself an unwilling witness to the couple's most private moments. The walls are thin. A quiet contest over territory begins among the three: who sits where, who uses the kitchen, who talks when. Kit Zauhar's film takes place almost entirely in one apartment. The narrative produces not events but discomfort; the closeness of the camera and the length of the scenes put the viewer inside the same tightness. The dialogue has a naturalness close to improvisation. Zauhar directs and plays Tessa. Zane Pais plays Ben and Ian Edlund plays Adam. Who it's for: Viewers who like low-budget American independent cinema, single-location drama, and character-driven narrative. Who it's not for: Almost nothing happens and the tension never breaks. For some viewers the characters are also entirely unappealing.