Drowning Dry (Seses) is writer-director Laurynas Bareisa’s second feature-length film. The Lithuanian drama begins inside a fighting ring where Lukas (Paulius Markevicius) wins his bout. The victory does little to quell his wife’s anxiety over his career of choice. However, said spouse, Ernesta (Gelmine Glemzaite), does support her husband despite her reservations. After Lukas cleans up and changes, he, Ernesta, and their son Kristupas (Herkus Scrapas) meet up with the in-laws. Specifically, there’s Ernesta’s sister Juste (Agne Kaktaite), her husband Tomas (Giedrius Kiela), and their daughter Urté (Olivija Eva Vilune).
The family members travel to the sisters’ family summer home. Here, Ernesta doses Lukas’s amorous behavior, while Juste ridicules the lackluster attempt Tomas makes to be sexy. The sisters wish just to hang out together and dote on their children. Well, that is to dote on Kristupas as Urté has never paid much heed to it. Luckily, Urté and her cousin get on well and spend their time causing mischief. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when Urté does not surface after her father gently tosses her into the lake for a swim.
Drowning Dry starts as a family drama. While not quite dysfunctional, there’s tension and drama stemming from the married folks. But after Urté may or may not drown, the story steers into unexpected and fascinating territory. The abrupt scene change upends dramatic irony, as all the characters know what’s going on/what happened while all watching don’t have an inkling quite yet. This dramatic intrigue is a breath of fresh air, allowing the characters to evolve naturally while sidestepping overdone tropes. Bareisa’s cleverly structured screenplay explores memories and responses to tragedy in unexpected ways.
“…tragedy strikes when Urté does not surface after her father gently tosses her into the lake…”
Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt. There’s not quite enough information about Tomas and how specific events affect him directly for it to feel complete. His erratic driving is established early on, sure, but exactly how X happens is logistically confusing. Unfortunately, divulging more would entail massive spoilers, but it is not quite as impactful as it could be.
However, the cast makes up for this narrative fumble. Markevicius is intense and brooding yet also playful and sweet when playing with the kids during a brilliant “cleaning” scene. Glemzaite is incredible. She’s strong-willed but never mean and sells the tragedy of the second half brilliantly. Kaktaite underplays things at first, only to let loose later on (starting just before the dance number). She’s incredible and may just as well be the best actor in the entire film. Kiela is annoying but still likable, which is a tricky tightrope considering certain events that happen. Scrapas and Vilune are both engaging as well.
Drowning Dry needs to be slightly longer to make the ending completely work. But there is so much talent on display, both in front of and behind the camera, that it is still a fantastic watch. The cast is excellent, and the story structure is so unique that it is refreshing. Bareisa has taken the family drama formula and reworked it entirely into something heartfelt, heartbreaking, and utterly absorbing.
"…there is so much talent on display..."
