Like Drive My Car, this is in no hurry to show you the credits, taking a full half an hour into the film before they make an appearance. Not sure if this is a new thing or not that I'm too old and past it to appreciate, but hey, whatever works. Some might think it makes it de rigeur. Personally, I think it's just odd.
I knew next to nothing of the plot of this and my interest was only piqued due to the previous work of the two leads. Edgar-Jones in Normal People and Sebastian Stan in some of his Marvel appearances.
I didn't put two and two together until after the opening credits, when the plot really becomes something more than the tale of two romantic strangers discussing the merits of grapes in the fruit aisle of the local supermarket. And by crikey, doesn't this ramp up a notch or two? The pessimist in me was already thinking about the practical health and safety issues involved in dating a stranger you barely knew, and almost physically recoiled at the thought of that stranger taking you away for a 'surprise weekend' when you'd barely known them for more than a few hours and suddenly find yourself with no Wi-Fi.
When our female lead is walking alone one night, she sees a man following her in the shadows and before she's had the chance to frantically get her keys in the car door, he has passed her, cooing lovingly at a baby carrier on his chest, nodding politely to her as he passes. Perhaps this is the catalyst for her to go gung-ho into this rather careless adventure with a man she barely knows, no matter how attracted to him she is. Maybe she thought she was worrying over nothing, even if her best friend thought otherwise. Well, regardless, the title of this project suddenly brings on a whole new meaning.
Things go downhill and fast for the unsuspecting victim of our antagonists 'tastes' and the whole affair, which had threatened to be a light-hearted love story turns into something distinctly more grim. Moreover, it seems she isn't the only love struck victim in the building he has absconded to with her. The surprises after the perambulatory first act come thick and fast, and whilst you're not left guessing too much, the plot will keep you just off balance enough so you don't get comfortable.
The performances are great and Stan makes for a very convincing psychopath with very peculiar customers. I'm not sure he went to the same school as Hopkins did to learn how to be Hannibal Lecter. Or if he did, he may have missed a lesson or two in the deranged lunatic portion of the syllabus, yet will still give you a suitable chill. Edgar-Jones does her helpless waif dutifully well, but knowing just how good she really can be when unleashed just shows how understated she has to be here.
A curious and perplexing story that is so unsettling because you can imagine that this is more true than you would like to believe. Unique, certainly, but impossible? Far from it. And that makes it truly scary.
Edit: I almost forgot. This has the most uncomfortable dance scene I've seen since Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina. Truly open-mouthed, slack-jawed wonder.
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