In Daniel M Hill’s Beth + Jeremy and Steve Beth (Briana Ratterman), much to her chagrin, or so it appears on the character’s face from the get-go, is married to Steve (Matthew Dibiasio). They’re a couple that seemed to have had the magic way back when they first hooked up, but now the thrill is gone. Steve is a deceptive, arrogant philanderer. He thinks Beth is clueless about his charade, but she’s tired of this old routine.
The film brought me immediately back to the early work of Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, and, most specifically, Alexander Payne. Rushmore, The Squid and the Whale, and Election. What I love about these films is the delightful alchemy that has come together to form an exciting dark comedy about three people just wanting to be wanted.
If the film has a recurring theme, it is people in search of genuine connection, and Beth soon happens across it, purely by accident, when she encounters Jeremy (Lucas Friedman) at a local record store. Engaged immediately, seeing the high-schooler is a vinyl connoisseur, Beth flirts with intent, forging a fast friendship with the teen.
“…Beth tells the kid she’s married, but she flirts anyway…”
Jeremy is excited following the encounter, nervously awaiting the moment Beth reestablishes contact. After initially laying all of her personal cards on the table, Beth tells the kid she’s married, and she’s not interested in having an affair, but the tone of the relationship soon drifts into taboo territory when the two get together at Beth’s to listen to some records.
The talking leads to listening, the listening leads to grooving, the grooving leads to dancing, and before you know it, the woman who wasn’t interested in having an affair and the school boy swimmer are locked in a deeply passionate tryst. The thing is that Steve is not clueless, and soon he’s hot on the scent of the boy experimenting with his wife.
It is at this point that Hill’s film really unpacks the Alexander Payne style kit. As Steve delves deeper into the arrangement between Beth and Jeremy, he ends up finally confronting the boy. With his own imposing personality and threats, Steve manipulates Jeremy in the same way he manipulates Beth.
What is interesting about the picture from that point forward is that there is no emergence of a clear antagonist. Indeed, there is no real villain in the piece. Beth, Jeremy and Steve are all seeking to find something they each need or have lost, and conveniently or inconveniently, use the fractured love triangle to discover and divulge truths about themselves and the depths of their feelings and intentions.
In a world where genre is the order of the day with movies, films like Beth + Jeremy and Steve face a dogfight all the way, with attracting the attention of an audience that long ago submitted to easily digestible blockbusters. But, as I say, if you dig a little deeper, especially in this indie cinema soil, you’ll find yourself little gems like this. A funny, tragic and moving look at the love we share…and all the complicated crap that hangs from it.
"…an exciting dark comedy about three people just wanting to be wanted."
