Martin Melnick’s Lilly Lives Alone is a character portrait of a woman haunted by ghosts of the past. Ten years ago, Lilly (Shannon Beeby) endured the sudden death of her young daughter. She was suspected of having caused the girl’s death, but ultimately it was judged an accident. There are parallels between the life and death of her child, and years of abuse at the hands of her own father. All of these elements swirl in Lilly’s mind like a storm. She tries to maintain some normalcy working in a store with a friend named Claire (Erin Way), but drugs, booze, and one night stands keep her off balance. She sleeps with a man named Jed (Ryan Jonze), who has apparently assessed the sex as being good enough to outweigh her instability.
Lilly hears voices, and has visual hallucinations, which are either paranormal effects, or the manifestations of someone who has severe mental illness. The uncertainty about which it is gives the filmmakers a great deal of latitude. That will appeal to some viewers, but not to everyone.
“…a character portrait of a woman haunted by ghosts of the past…”
There are varying styles of narrative crazy, and Lilly Lives Alone employs the more challenging kind. On the one hand, the audience has insider knowledge of the protagonist, and despite everyone else seeing the character as crazy, we know she is not. In the other variety, we are among the potential pitchfork and torch-bearing townspeople who don’t understand why the protagonist is behaving in an irrational way, engendering fear and mistrust. Lilly’s mind is and will remain a locked room. Is there something supernatural at work, or is Lilly simply garden-variety crazy?
While it’s not entirely clear what Shannon Beeby is going for, given how opaque the character of Lilly is, Jeffrey Combs is brilliant as concerned elderly neighbor Russell. His performance is pure power. Cinematically, the film is mostly set in the house with the lighting low. This is a frustrating trend in indie horror lately, but it does gloss over the issues of a low budget.
Lilly Lives Alone is an atmospheric thriller. Generally speaking, invoking a deep, dark ambience colors the journey and makes it a spooky experience to get to the denouement. In this film, the atmosphere is the destination. It behooves a viewer not to be too attached to causality, or linear logic. Taking this approach is a gamble in the current moment of cinematic culture. Audiences are savvy to the point of obsession, trying to tease out every reference like an archeologist / conspiracy theorist. This film requires the viewer to let that all go and commit to a sensory experience. It is a thrill ride to take the trip with Lilly and her fractured psyche. If that is your cup of tea, then here your cup runneth over.
What happens and how it ends is for the viewer to discover. Take the ride and see.
Learn more at the official Lilly Lives Alone website.
"…it is a thrill ride to take the trip with Lilly and her fractured psyche..."
