QUICK’N DIRTY: LIVE FROM TALLINN

Silence can be dreadfully unnerving, and in Polish director Artur Wyrzykowski’s This is Not Happening any feelings of trepidation are quickly justified. The momentary silence is like the lull before the storm, as a tension courses through one’s body, knotting the muscles. It’s nigh impossible to find any reprieve in its short 75 minutes, which feels decidedly longer.

The story is set almost exclusively in an apartment, where Bartek (Tomasz Schuchardt) learns that his son is a suspect in a shooting at his school. With one fatality and other lives hanging in the balance, Daniel (Borys Otawa) is facing a 25-year prison sentence if any of the others die. A fixer for politicians and celebrities who wind up in tight spots, Bartek now finds himself plotting to save his son. First, he plans to disappear in Europe, with an eventual destination of South Asia. Bartek’s fiancée Maja (Paulina Gałązka) is horrified, and when she threatens to call the police, Bartek ties her to a chair.

Outside a frantic search begins for Daniel, but inside Maja’s apartment, the storm will be one of words. Yes, there are physical altercations between Bartek and Maja, father and son, but This is Not Happening is dialogue driven. For every word there’s an intent and purpose, and there is no wasted movement. Wyrzykowski’s tightly wound script means that the slightest slip in concentration risks missing a line that tells you something about these characters and their predicament. This contributes in-part to the heightened suspense, but the approach of the director and his cinematographer Ernest Wilczynski, to get up close and tight in Bartek and Maja’s personal space, is integral to having any chance to reach the heightened suspense that will shred the audience’s nerves.

Striking aesthetic touches such as the red or white saturation of the picture, and in a scene late in the film, the loud music, reveal the film’s artifice. These are playful touches that might appear to be an unnecessary indulgence, but they serve an important purpose. The saturation of the image is like “kaleidoscope vision”, when colours can be seen in the eyes. Meanwhile, music can overwhelm a scene, but here, like the image saturation, it can be interpreted as a symptom of Bartek’s stress. These moments allow Wyrzykowski to distract the audience and reset their concentration without leaving a noticeable lull in the story.

This is Not Happening is a manipulative dance and power struggle between the three people. The way their dynamic fits together complicates the stakes for Bartek, who is forced to make an unenviable choice between his fiancée who announces she’s pregnant, and his teenage son from a previous marriage. Maja and their unborn child are like a do-over for Bartek – a second chance at marriage and fatherhood. But Daniel is still his son, and as he says to a trusted confidante on the phone, if he doesn’t try to save Daniel, what would that say about him?

Manipulation comes easy for Bartek, who has made a living knowing how to manoeuvre politicians and celebrities out of trouble. For Maja, manipulation doesn’t seem to be in her nature. She and Bartek are almost counter images of beauty and ugliness, innocence and guilt. Maja is forced to adapt her nature, but the blonde hair, delicate features and soft eyes, with a paint stained artist’s shirt, betrays her true nature. Gałązka plays Maja in such a way that you can’t help feel a little pity for her. We’re left to wonder why fate conspired to put her in this position? Nor can we help but think that in the longterm, she’ll end up loathing Bartek and regret ever wanting to have children with him. In this way, Maja is a character whose life is withering away, only she does not know it.

Daniel on the other hand sees himself as weak compared to his father. What he struggles to comprehend is that his father was not always the strong assertive problem solver for society’s elite – he was likely once an insecure adolescent. Of course, we can’t be sure of anything, and questions are left unanswered, especially in relation to Bartek’s failed marriage and relationship with his son. That Wyrzykowski frames Bartek as a domineering figure who bullies both Daniel and Maja, exposes his need to be in a position of power, and offers the story an interesting context.

This 75-minuter film is about the limits of power and control. We witness an emperor-like character laid siege to. For all his power, he may not be able to save his own son. The story has shades of Shakespearean tragedy, as well as ancient stories about the downfall of powerful men. A tour-de-force of a first feature.

This is Not Happening just premiered in the First Feature Competition of the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.