We are certainly in the midst of all manner of variables that are dictating how we live and work at the moment – and for real-life couple Paula Rhodes and Charlie Bodin, they have used a blessed event as a backdrop to a not-so-blessed existence in the new social drama DELICATE STATE.
For Paula and Charles (Rhodes and Bodin), the happiness stemming from a sudden addition in their lives seems so straightforward. There’s going to be debates about how to raise it, a little bit (or perhaps a lot of) hormonal desperation on the part of the mother – and the chance to chronicle their experience in a video diary for the benefit of their child.
Unfortunately, recent political events (and perhaps that other global challenge we are going through) have other ideas, with a crisis on Capitol Hill throwing a few hand-grenades into the mix. A flyer pinned to their door – as well as Paula’s sister Cathy demanding that they come with her to shelter – is not enough to convince them to leave, but when planes and bombs start falling, the world changes….
Shot initially in 2015, but expanded and extended to include in a narrative idea a potential cause-and-effect of the Capitol attack on January 6th 2021, DELICATE STATE uses the style of CLOVERFIELD and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT to create a downbeat and very intense affair that holds the attention. It probably isn’t what the world needs in terms of escapist entertainment and there is a sense that people are demanding more optimistic story-telling to help them through the days at the moment.
That said, this is a very involving and well-made, if visually familiar, movie that pushes the right buttons, although we yearn for a much brighter day on all fronts. One hopes that there is a more optimistic tone in the pipeline to help us understand the world and each other a lot better.
DELICATE STATE will be released on Demand from January 4th, 2022
