Playing out like the claustrophobic feel-bad films of Michael Haneke, John Brian King’s Redlands is a tough movie to get through, but the excellent camerawork and astute directing make this a worthwhile tale of tragic brutality. It has an undeniably arthouse aesthetic, which lends itself perfectly into this nasty story of a model who can’t seem to rid herself of poisonous men.
Redlands stars Nicole Fox as Vienna, a secretary turned amateur model who picks up a gig posing nude for Allan (Clifford Morts), an aspiring photographer. Vienna’s boyfriend, Zack (Sam Brittan), tags along to act as her manager and escort while he works on an album with his band. As we watch these three characters live their lives, we begin to see that all is not right with these people, and things begin heading down a very dark path.
Presented in nearly all static long takes, the film gives us an unflinching and voyeuristic look into the lives of these people, whether we want to see it or not. It’s the type of close framing that disables the viewer’s ability to escape, forcing them ot to bare witness to all the uncomfortable and terrible things unfolding on the screen. To exacerbate this feeling, King opts to linger on each scene just long enough to make us feel thoroughly uncomfortable before moving on to the next moment of unease.
Though the film focuses mainly on Vienna, it takes several detours to follow the two men in her life, and show us that they are awful people and no good will come from her associating with them. Zack is a misogynistic and abusive asshole who demands control over everything and everyone he encounters. Early on we see a conversation between he and Vienna where he calls her a “bitch” and then chokes her in order to achieve arousal. Later we see a scene with him and his band mates rehearsing and we learn that he doesn’t just treat women like garbage, he does it to everyone. Yet another scene shows him cheating on Vienna in a particularly brutal and difficult to watch manner. It’s not that it was particularly graphic, it’s the amount of time spent with the act and the sounds associated with it that were so terrible.
The photographer, Alan, seems like a creep from the beginning of the film, and only gets weirder from there. A particularly effective scene involving him losing his cool with a customer service rep on the phone informs us that this guy is clearly unstable and can’t be trusted. Unfortunately, Vienna is simply too naïve and trusting to see the writing on the wall, which leads to the film’s bloody finale.
The conclusion is something that can be seen early on in the movie, however that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective or difficult to endure. The act itself is frighteningly real looking and despite me not feeling any real type of emotional attachment to any of the characters, I found myself feeling mortified and sad at what I was witnessing. The thing that really drives the film home is the final scene however, which ditches the static shot and uses a handheld. This scene proved to be a masterstroke, tying everything together in a meticulously crafted and horrific bow.
Redlands is a solid debut from John Brian King, who previously worked as a title designer for films like Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and The Ring. The film oozes with style and it’s an easy recommend on visual composition alone, despite some uneven characters and unnecessary vlog bits. It’s extremely unnerving and dark, so be sure you’re in the right mindset for it, maybe watch Lilo and Stitch afterwards since King also did the titles for that one.
Redlands is currently available on Amazon Instant Video and Vimeo on Demand
Redlands red band film trailer from Redlands The Movie on Vimeo.
