Sartre said in No Exit that Hell is other people, but he didn’t even imagine this much digital Hell. This modern torment is sculpted with mastery within the narrative. McAdams has this marvelous returning image of the coffee maker brewing over and over again, playing the same time passes function as the “showtime” drug showers that played in All That Jazz. There is this incredibly poignant speech at the end that Walker delivers about perpetual futility that rings true very loudly. I know it is a tall order to commit to sitting through a plague-era drama. Nearly no one wants to think back on those years, let alone watch a movie set during it. To his credit, McAdams’ script does not mention the “C” word nor get into the frothing politics of isolation. In fact, it seems the churning torture pits of human resources and customer service centers are the infernal flash points rather than the virus.
The plotline of Walker losing grip on sanity in her apartment will cause a lot of folks to think of Repulsion with Catherine Deneuve. I feel Hello In Here has much more in common with The Shining because I feel Walker’s downward spiral is due to the world’s insanity and not her own. Walker’s performance here is incredible, as she easily carries the entire picture. She expresses the emotional netherworld she is buried in with devastating intensity.
“The secret weapon here is the world-beating cinematography by Jeremy Jacoby.”
The secret weapon here is the world-beating cinematography by Jeremy Jacoby. Every scene is impeccably composed, with magnificent color palettes lushly utilized. This increases during the highly surreal dream sequences, which are the real payoff here. Each dream is beautiful and horrifying, filled with what I call “f**k yeah” moments because that is what I find myself saying out loud in an empty room when they happen. The grim shutdown reality makes the awesome dreamland sequences pop and flare like volcanic eruptions. The final scene is crystal clear visual perfection in the Kubrick tradition, bringing up more reminders of The Shining. That McAdams was able to intensify the impact of these scenes by allowing them to be the twisted escape from the banal reality established is some impressive manipulation.
Hello In Here may not be the movie you want to see when it begins, but it will be one you will be glad you saw when it ends. Trust me, this is the abyss you want to stare into.
For more screening information, visit the Hello In Here official website.
"…the awesome dreamland sequences pop and flare like volcanic eruptions."
