Estonian filmmaker Evar Anvelt, along with writer Martin Algus, deliver what may be one of the year’s best films with Something Real, an indie that should get award recognition but will most likely slip under the radar in this over-saturated market. A well-oiled machine, the film’s plot barrels ahead, rarely stepping wrong, carrying the viewer along for the entire gripping ride. Anvelt’s confident filmmaking, coupled with the performances and rarely seen setting, makes it a must-see thriller.
Fresh out of prison, the initially quiet Karl (Jan Uuspõld) wanders the streets. “I’m done with the scheming,” he tells his parole officer. It doesn’t last long: he bumps into Leila (Jaanika Arum) and beats the crap out of her abuser. In the meantime, Leo (Kristo Viiding) leads an unhappy, sexless life at home, watching way too much porn. Our two hapless heroes’ paths intersect when Karl, with Leila’s assistance, catfishes Leo, then traps and blackmails him. “Every month, you pay us 60% of your salary,” Karl informs Leo, after taking some highly compromising photos. It doesn’t take long for Karl to empty Leo’s accounts. “You’ve never had anything,” he tells Leila in their opulent new house. “Enjoy this.”
“…paths intersect when Karl, with Leila’s assistance, catfishes Leo…”
One man’s life falls apart while the other begins to form a semblance of a life. The former is a hard-working everyman on the verge of familial and psychotic breakdowns; the latter, a thug who’s never worked a day in his life and now stumbles into unexpected riches. Who’s the real scumbag here? Who’s more pathetic? Anvelt and Algus imbue the proceedings with moral ambiguity, wherein you’re not rooting for anyone, yet can’t take your eyes off the increasingly dire twists and turns. They frequently flirt with dark humor and never shy away from thoughtfully exploring their characters, Anvelt unafraid of an artsy montage or a prolonged close-up. Mihkel Soe’s crisp cinematography conveys the melancholia seeping into each frame, every pixel.
Jan Uuspõld makes for an authentic thug, emanating menace but also a dangerous charisma. Kristo Viiding — whose character, if there were a US remake, would be played by lookalike Ed Helms — similarly delivers a lived-in performance, deeply insecure and introverted. Jaanika Arum may be the standout, her Leila speaking volumes wordlessly, both embracing and wary of her newly acquired lifestyle. Ester Kuntu, who plays Leo’s desperate wife Diana, effortlessly steals scenes in a heartbreaking performance.
An intense scene involving Karl teaching a young man how to exact revenge on a woman-beater is soon topped by a brutal fight with a Nazi. The film may nevertheless prove a tad too slow or long for jaded moviegoers. But no matter. Evar Anvelt delivers Something Real, something authentic in a cinematic landscape of fabricated clones. Hopefully, it’ll break through the noise and make the impact it deserves. This is how you make a movie.
"…a must-see thriller..."
