Writer/director Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet is a drama/mystery feature with horror and thriller elements. Psychological fear and illusions vs. reality are in constant play.
Meg (Jennifer Kim) was the recent victim of a kidnapping and naturally she is still suffering PTSD from the ordeal. Her significant other Scott (Kentucker Audley) is having difficulty with her state, including her distrust of him and her wanting to discuss the details of her kidnapping. The couple takes time away from their lives in the city to spend a quiet retreat at his rather remote family estate in Cape Cod.
Not long after settling in, though, a woman named Madelin (Marin Ireland) makes her presence known. She is a brusque person who is immediately at odds with Meg. Scott and Madelin tell Meg that they are cousins, and here Somewhere Quiet begins to further cloud Meg’s grip on reality. Already prone to visions, hallucinations, and flashbacks, she now may or may not also be the victim of gaslighting and lies. Lloyd makes it quite obvious that something is off regarding the relationship between the cousins, but deftly balances the proceedings in a manner that keeps viewers pondering the believability of each characters’ words and actions.
Kim gives an outstanding performance as Meg, a strong woman who has been greatly affected by her abduction but who wants to deal with it, rather than try to move on with it like Scott. Her performance as an unreliable protagonist drives Somewhere Quiet as she tries desperately not to be a mere victim though she cannot help but be suspicious of others’ actions, especially ones that trigger putting her into fight-or-flight mindsets. Audley and Ireland provide fine support as two characters that obviously have secrets between them, but are they the same secrets that Meg suspects? Audley provides some unnerving moments, with Ireland turning in work that provides for some highly uncomfortable sequences.
Lloyd does a superb job at the helm and with her screenplay, keeping viewers in the dark while slowly unfolding layers of mystery. Ariel Marx’s score adds a further unsettling air to Somewhere Quiet. Meg cannot get any easy answers to her questions, suspicions, nor how much of a grip she has on reality, and neither can viewers.
Somewhere Quiet is part of Tribeca Festival, which takes place in New York City from June 7–18, 2023.
