DISTORTED
Canada, 2018, 86 minutes, Colour.
Christina Ricci, John Cusack, Brendan Fletcher, Vicellous Reon Shannon.
Directed by Rob W.King.
Distorted is a brief thriller from Canada. The focus is on Christina Ricci as the wife of a successful businessman, the getting a new house, moving into the equivalent of a gated community. She has had trauma in her life, an accident, the death of a child.
This is a film about paranoia, the mother suffering from depression, but beginning to be suspicious about the surveillance in the community. She is right to be suspicious. The community is an experiment in mind and will control.
John Cusack appears as an expert, a kind of loner, who comes into help, to expose. While he is effective with the mother, he is pursued and killed.
The various other members of the community manifest their being controlled – and some who declare that they are not part of the group and kill themselves.
Eventually, the mother pretends to fulfil the control command, to kidnap a child, but she and her husband have devised a deceit and expose the surveillance and control.
- Title? Lauren and her experiences? The distortion? Her psychological state, susceptible to suggestion? The technology of surveillance and motivation?
- The Canadian setting, the community, social, the mansion? The musical score?
- Lauren’s story? Her experiences, the death of the child? Bipolar? The effect of her mental condition? Her love for Russell, the marriage, the death? His work, the new house, buying it, settling in? The social, the neighbours? Meeting with Philip Stark?
- Lauren and her experience, feeling controlled? Noticing the neighbours, scratching their itches, uniformity? Suspicious? Russell and his reactions?
- Vernon, coming to see Lauren, the explanations, his help, reassuring Lauren, the control, that she kidnap and kill a child, Vernon and his rescuing Lauren, his escape and death?
- The surveillance technology, observation, influencing on mind, emotions, the members of the community? The man declaring he was not one of them, his suicide?
- Lauren, the commands, Philip Stark, the meetings, are going to the child, the kidnap, arriving with the bag?
- The twist, Russell and his helping Lauren, a bag full of apples? The confrontation of Stark and the expose?
- Laura and Russell, some peace, the new house – and the new installation?
