In this post-apocalyptic take on The Beguiled, a toxin called The Shred gets in the air and erases parts of people’s memories, giving them symptoms resembling dementia. In the midst of this, a family lives in a glasshouse, doing everything the mother believes necessary to survives. That is until a stranger comes into their lives and between the two sisters.
Written by Emma Lungiswa De Wet and Kelsey Egan and directed by the latter, Glasshouse is a slow-moving film that takes the viewer in, puts them in this world within the film, comforts them a bit, and then adds more and more to the story. The film’s connection to The Beguiled is something that helps it here, giving the film a familiarity while also leaving some room to grow from. The film develops a world that it keeps to and works within the rules created therein. This is something that is often sidestepped by many films to be able to achieve what they want. Here, rules are in place in the story and the world, pushing the characters in certain directions which may be predictable at times and surprising at others. No matter this, the story pulls the viewer in slowly.
The cast here shines. They are given plenty of room to work within and have characters that are fully fleshed. This means that all of the cast, mainly 6 people, do great work here. The two sisters give particularly good performances, going through a wide array of emotions and making these emotions connect with the viewers. Jessica Alexander and Anja Taljaard play Bee and Evie respectively and they both bring it. They are emotional, but not overly so. They are nuanced without exaggerating. These are the kind of performances that keep the viewer involved and interested, even when a film feels like it has a slow pace. Their work, as well as that of the rest of the cast, works just about perfectly for the film and its story.
Glasshouse is a moody film that grabs the viewer and just pulls them in slowly, giving them something to care about, some images that look just stunning, and so much more. Yes, it’s a take on a long-loved story and often adapted one, but it’s definitely one of the better versions of it with some elements added that bring it into the current fears and worries of the world in just the right way.
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs every year, and this year runs virtually from August 5th until August 25th.