“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” as the saying goes. Matthew Kyle Levine and Shea Glasheen’s short film, House to Herself, explores this idea when a young woman (Desi Stephens) is left alone in her father’s lakeside home while he is gone for the weekend with his girlfriend.
Her day alone starts with brushing her teeth and making her bed. Then she fires off a few texts, makes breakfast, and watches television. Then she calls a guy she met and invites him to stay the night after work.
“…left alone in her father’s lakeside home while he is gone for the weekend…”
House to Herself uses the short film form simply to explore an idea. What trouble would/could this young woman get herself into when left with no purpose or direction for an extended period of time? It’s a simple story, and directors Levine and Glasheen are meticulous in the way they shoot it. The house is immaculately clean, almost sterile, and our protagonist is almost always placed in a wide shot to emphasize she’s alone in a very large, lakeside home.
House to Herself masterfully presents a simple proposition, and we get to observe how it plays out with a moment of irony in the end.
"…idle hands are the devil's workshop..."
