I considered this film as part of my 2013 WFF schedule last year but ultimately decided against it after feeling underwhelmed by the trailer.  However, what rekindled my interest was the presence of the principal actress, Tallie Medel (who I saw in Joy Kevin last month), and its placement on a year-end list by fellow writer Nora Stone.  All considered, this is a strangely moving film- one that I can't quite figure out.
Perhaps the key resides in its dedication to the late Éric Rohmer.  I wish I had this reference point.  I am familiar with the French New Wave director's name (knowing he is one to title his films after the seasons like Ozu and Bergman), but I have not yet immersed myself in even one of his works.  I should rectify that ASAP.  Judging The Unspeakable Act on its own merits, then, is a question of character.  The premise of the entire film, a younger sister's sexual love for her older brother, hinges upon her authenticity.  Medel approaches the role of Jackie Kimball with a kind of deadpan sincerity, which bleeds into the film's universal tone; Sallitt introduces the film and its basis with stark voiceover narration that is wryly confrontational.
Ordinarily, people like Jackie in a dramatic film are its crux, its Achilles' heel, because they are simply too direct in their encounters.  However, Medel has a peculiar and commanding way of selling her behavior as an absolute realist, so she is never sexually exploited.  It has become so commonplace for controversial coming-of-age films to approach similar subject matter by resorting to this overly charged and revealing energy, but The Unspeakable Act is (ironically, based on the title) more about conversation and expressionistic subtlety.  Yes, Jackie isn't necessarily a restrained person, but I think she gives the audience a lot to question in the realm of human relations.  Sallitt spent the necessary time developing her bond with her brother Matthew (Sky Hirschkron) as well as her own unique psychology, which exists independently outside social taboos.  Jackie is a person who's perfectly willing to cross boundary lines and barriers, because she simply doesn't see them.  In the latter half of the film, in discussion with her therapist Linda (Caroline Luft), it's assessed that Jackie craves familiarity in a relationship, not mystery like the majority of people (in alignment with her characterization as a realist).  I think this particular revelation functions as a sound argument against someone who would define this film as "unrealistic" or "austere."
For a film that often inexplicably fades in-and-out between days, it possesses an unusual fluidity, because the emphasis always remains upon conversation- whether between family or friends.  Perhaps Jackie's relationships with peers outside her family could have been better developed, but scenes that are included are stimulating and memorable, particularly two of them that occur around the halfway mark that concern paraphilia/perversion and societal perceptions of sex/romance manipulated by media exposure.  This has always been a difficult subject for me to openly discuss with anyone, because I am an extremely inadequate and bashful person, so I suppose this vicarious experience made me feel included, perhaps augmented even further by the fact that all participants in the group are female.  In my opinion, this is why film is such an alluring medium to me; no matter how well something like this could have been articulated in a text, an important cadence would have been absent, not to mention the gestures between the young women as they listen, jest, and earnestly respond.  After a viewing, I feel slightly more at ease, hah.  I'm not sure I would have chosen the precise framing for this scene that cuts between close-ups of individuals instead of a static medium-long shot that would have been more inclusive and engrossing, but for intimate conversation, it works well enough.
A final question: In the film, the "i" word is referred to as the "unmentionable act;" so why is "unspeakable" used in the title?  Could this have something to do with the amusing in-joke that concerns Jackie feeling embarrassed about writing her thoughts down in a diary?  The voiceover narration essentially serves that purpose as if she is reading an entry.  But this is also one of the problems of detached voiceover- it is difficult to determine the point in time in which it is spoken.  I couldn't help feeling like it could have been said aloud to herself (different than internal monologue) or dispersed in those frequently frank talks with Matthew that feel like a series of sentences posed as questions that no one has ever considered before.  This, at least, makes The Unspeakable Act an hauntingly invigorating viewing experience even if there's something a bit stiff about it all.  Err, yeah, haha.
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