SLIFF Exclusive
Filmizon’s Nikolai Adams with The Nymphets writer/director Gary Gardner
Sometimes the opening credits of a film can signal the type of experience you are in for and this is clearly the case with Gary Gardner’s The Nymphets. The credits are large, bold and frantically paced, which, along with the similarly themed musical score, highlights that we are in for quite the ride.
We are thrown immediately into the story as two young women, Brittany (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) and Allyson (Jordan Lane Price) are attempting to retrieve their ID’s (possibly fake) from a strict bouncer. In walks the seemingly together, fashionably dressed thirty-something named Joe (Kim Pardue) to the rescue. He barters the guard’s walkie talkie, which the girls had grabbed, for their IDs and the three leave together.
What follows is a roller coaster ride of a story, with the two ladies returning home with the man. Joe is clearly hoping to ‘get lucky’, but the girls seem to be more interested in messing with his head rather than playing with his ‘other head’. Brittany and Allyson seem to have a mesmerizing hold over the man and they eventually learn of the troubles he is having with his girlfriend. They convince him to phone her and tell her that he is with two lovely young women to make her jealous. There are many small vignettes such as the one highlighted above that build the drama, quasi-romance and tension found in this fast-paced yet mostly singularly located film. The one time Joe leaves the apartment (other than the beginning of the film) is when he takes Brittany for a motorcycle ride – when he returns, things have become even more complicated as Allyson has invited a third friend, Madison (Paulina Singer) into his home. As you may be able to imagine, things continue to escalate to a breaking point, but what that is, is left for you to discover. The only tidbit I will pass along is that we are ripped out of the story as quickly as we are tossed into it – creating a nice bookend that once again adds to the frenetic feeling of the film.
One of the things that makes this movie so interesting is that it is absurdly authentic. Perhaps the best way to describe it is that it feels like a dream that turns out to be real. It is an ‘out there’ situation, yet it is not hard to believe that these types of characters would get into this type of position. After all, it is a crazy world we live in, and the three main actors are able to powerfully exemplify this. Gardner’s script and direction never allows us to slow down, which is an impressive feat considering that almost the entire movie takes place in Joe’s apartment, and the trim seventy-five minute length only adds to the effect. This is somewhat reminiscent of two Alfred Hitchcock movies – Lifeboat and Rope, which also succeed at building suspense by using one sole location and a short run time.
With a title like The Nymphets, I was expecting a certain type of movie when I entered the theatre to watch the East Coast Premiere of the film, but now that I’ve seen it, it shows that titles can be just as deceiving as the characters. You’re not supposed to know what is going to happen on this wild ride – this movie is about experiencing new situations and just letting go of the control you want to have, even when watching a film.