Tabitha in Love
2019 · 14m · USA
Directed by Christian Flashman
Genres: dark comedy, romance, surrealism
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic, provocative
After a strange erotic awakening with her pool boy and his dislocated ankle, Tabitha must come to terms with her new sense of sexuality while scrambling to stop a drug recall that threatens her newly discovered love.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A dislocated ankle as the erotic fulcrum of suburban romance? Flashman's committed to the bit in a way that makes you complicit in the absurdity—the voice-only Sennott performance is the final middle finger to good taste, and it absolutely works.
While the formal control here is evident—the restraint of Sennott's disembodied narration, the careful tonal balance between fetish and sincerity—the film ultimately resists the lineage it might otherwise claim, preferring provocation to tradition.
The decision to anchor Tabitha's entire awakening to one anatomical detail and to render Sennott as pure voice creates an economy of image that turns constraint into the film's greatest asset, making the absurdity land with real weight.
Reviews
A very intriguing watch about a highly unique sadomasochistic relationship.
American Horror Stories-esque.
Festivals
- National Film Festival For Talented Youth (NFFTY) 2019