The Breakthrough
2023 · 14m · USA
Directed by Daniel Sinclair
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic
Jane and Teddy have been going to couples therapy with little success, and divorce seems inevitable — until a single session alters the course of their marriage forever in an outrageously dark and unexpected way.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Greta Lee in a dark-comedy couples-therapy meltdown. The setup is so well-worn the only currency left is execution — and Greta Lee plus a 'surprisingly realistic portrait of marital disconnect' is enough rope to pull me in.
Greta Lee in a couples-therapy dark comedy is reason enough to engage, and Sinclair's tonal tightrope between Yorgos Lanthimos absurdism and Bergman intimacy is the gamble. Fourteen minutes feels about right for the conceit.
Greta Lee in a 14-minute therapy-session-spirals-into-dark-comedy short — the casting alone signals the tonal control needed for that tightrope, and 22K Vimeo views means the absurd-realistic balance is being respected. Good genre boundary work.
Reviews
The Breakthrough delivers a dark comedy that strikes the perfect balance between the insanity of its concept and the relatable disconnect between its central couple.
Greta Lee and Ben Sinclair star in this outrageously dark and funny film that will have you questioning your own relationship issues.
Festivals
- SXSW Film Festival 2023
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2023, Peter Macgregor-Scott Award
- Brooklyn Film Festival 2023