If you like your minimalism to come with more than a few thrills (though not so many as to spoil the point of the entire exercise), Confine might just be the film for you. Daisy Lowe (in her first lead acting role) plays a model, Pippa - no great stretch there, you'd be forgiven for thinking. Having not left her flat in four years, work is understandably drying up. Can you see where this is going?
Luckily first-time director Tobias Tobbell manages to pull off the audacious trick of inviting us, the voyeuristic audience, to second-guess what happens to shatter the agoraphobic peace - then when it actually does unfold, it takes the viewer by surprise enough to keep watching. And that, dear reader, is why its up for so many awards at independent film festivals. An inventive twist on what possibly ranks in at least the top five 'how to spin a thriller' plots.
And the sense of economy - a cast of three (Eliza Bennett & 'Game Of Thrones' Alfie Allen also on the team-sheet) - only adds to the atmosphere. A certain nod to Tobbell's background in theatre should quickly become apparent in both staging and style of performance, and anyone more accustomed to the elder of the two art forms could be forgiven for wanting to take up any staging rights forthwith.
Think of it as a sort of cinematic chess, if you will. A finite board/location (the apartment), three pieces (Lowe, Bennett & Allen) moving around it with the player (Tobbell) restricting himself to a certain number of moves a frame. Apply the same loose rules to the stage and still it works.
Does it diminish the game? Clearly the critics think not. While some of the moves played may not require a great deal of thought on the part of even the casual observer, there's quite enough to keep you from declaring 'checkmate' and pushing away the board too early.
Confine will be available on DVD and iTunes in the US and Canada on Tuesday April 15th.
Read our interview with Tobias Tobbell, the director of Confine.
