Written by Eve Katz, Photo courtesy of Oakhurst Entertainment Productivity Media Tandem Pictures Blue Creek Pictures
Writer and director Lawrence Michael Levine stated that “Black Bear” is the kind of film that is better the less you know before you watch it. I have to agree. With creativity and the artistic process serving as the beating heart of this film, elusivity is to be expected. This film is at its best when taken in on an “empty stomach,” so to speak, that way the twists and turns throw you just as hard as Levine intends them to.
The film features Aubrey Plaza, who also was credited as a producer, as Allison. Allison is a filmmaker struggling to work on her latest script, so she is invited to stay at the lakeside residence of couple Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon) to give her a nice setting to write in. The relationships among the three leading characters carry the film down a twisted path of jealousy, manipulation and creative productivity in a blaring bright light that shows every imperfection that comes with putting your work before your relationships.
Dizzyingly fast dialogue not only quickly shows the dynamics among the characters but also can make the viewers feel like a captive audience, watching something they shouldn’t see. “Black Bear” effectively strikes a balance between making the viewer laugh and making them squirm with scenes that do not hold back with their depictions of relationships simmering with toxicity.
The film never leaves the lakehouse setting, contributing to a feeling of isolation and having to deal with inescapable interpersonal and introspective problems. Allison comes to the lakehouse to help with her difficulties writing her newest film, and the audience is treated to an opening shot of her staring contemplatively at the water, a shot we see many times. Despite amazing accompanying performances by Abbott and Gadon, Plaza’s Allison is the character the film seems to focus on the most. The viewer watches as she sits alone either before an unwelcoming body of water or a blank pad of paper, and as she observes, influences and is affected by the relationship between Gabe and Blair.
Instead of a slow burn that creeps up on the viewer like many drama films, “Black Bear” takes the viewer on a journey that immediately introduces problematic interactions between characters and jerks between painfully emotional performances by the cast and coolly delivered dark humor. It’s easy to see why Plaza was Levine’s first choice for Allison and why she is so close to the project, as her filmography is filled with darkly comedic characters. All three of this film’s main characters have their opportunities to deliver both comedic and deeply emotional lines; Levine stated that the balance between darkness and comedy was difficult to maintain both on set and in editing, and the efforts by cast and crew to keep that balance are evident.
“Black Bear” is a relevant movie to have been shown at SCAD Savannah’s Film Festival to an audience of artists, for it is a movie by artists about artistry itself. Having creative goals comes with a necessity for ambition, but when it comes to artists who are willing to do anything to anyone to get their work how they want it, don’t poke the bear. In the case of this film, their path is a dangerous one with chaos at every turn.
