This Closeness

Some viewers may not be receptive to the nihilistic tone in the film. Many of life’s important moments don’t result in a happy ending, and there isn’t necessarily one here either. This Closeness will, however, leave you thinking about relationships in your own life and where there might be room for improvement.

Zauhar’s filmmaking style has matured along with her characters. Where Actual People took us on a fast and loose misadventure from New York to Philly, This Closeness is controlled and taut, displaying immense restraint and intention.

The result is a finely observed study of modern manners and mores on a micro-budget that’s nevertheless rich in feeling, especially the cringeiness one might experience from watching other people bicker or hearing people have sex through thin walls.

Maybe Zauhar’s film isn’t totally surprising; it nevertheless hits close to home while never veering too hard into either cringe comedy or navel-gazing. A promising sign there’s still juice left in the small-scale relationship drama indie.

The film’s stripped-down aesthetic is mirrored in the actors’ performances; they deliver straightforward lines with a hint of self-consciousness and discomfort, even between friends and lovers. It’s as if the closeness is projected through a scrim, which creates a kind of purposeful clumsiness the audience can feel, too. When actual physical contact occurs, it’s almost jarring.

At first, Zauhar’s project for the film isn’t obvious, but once it clicks into place, the movie becomes a richer experience.