#4 - COUPLE IN A HOLE by Tom Geens (UK, Belgium, France)
The opening image of the film is that of a middle class couple living a primordial life in the woods. Out of this simple image, which was also the image that inspired TOM GEENS to make COUPLE IN A HOLE, many questions arise with a viewer. That is precisely the intention of a film like COUPLE IN A HOLE, that moves by way of mystery and plays with the perception of a viewer about not only how the whole film will be resolved, but also what individual scene might lead to.
This is quite a vivid experimentation that is nevertheless far from exceeding in stylistic flamboyance, with GEENS instead opting for quite a natural and organic type of filmmaking that instead treasures the natural mystery and dark beauty of its forest setting of the Midi-Pyrenees. The experimentation is, indeed, of a more psychological nature and its subtlety makes it all the more magnetic, but the filmmaker does infuse the film with some flare due to such choices as, for instance, the mostly instrumental soundtrack provided by BEAK>, mostly composed of electronic instruments that therefore reveal a type of playfulness in the project as well as infuse the energy of the film with strangely fascinating energy.
Another thing that makes the film ultimately rewarding, is the very humans sentiments that are explored within it, as well as its genuine psychology.
These aspects are enhanced and aided in credibility by the performances of the leading actors KATE DICKIE and PAUL HIGGINS, in their roles that required a certain physicality, sometimes even animalistic charge, which is cohesive to the overall vision. The fact that they look like ordinary people, rather than the usual figures who play leading roles in this type of film, is an added bonus.