FILM: 3 BACKYARDS

FILM: 3 BACKYARDS – 2010

It took me a few days to decide that I really liked this rather unsettling film. Set in Suffolk County on Long Island, this suburban drama involves three separate, non-intersecting stories on a given day. The characters only share close proximity of their property in a given neighborhood. We are given few clues in this highly-stylized film. There is no real beginning, middle or end. There is no real storyline. We are just spectators, sucked into what makes us feel like voyeurism. I felt really uncomfortable while watching what should have been private foibles.

We encounter an unhappy middle-aged man in the opening scene. His marriage is not working out and he is in the process of going somewhere. He misses his flight and comes home to look at his own family through the windows while pretending to be at the airport.

We see an eight-year old girl finding her mother’s birthday gift, trying it on and having trouble taking it off when she has to leave for school. Since she has missed her school bus, she takes a shortcut through a neighboring backyard and encounters a teenaged neighbor masturbating in a shed.

Then we meet up with a middle-aged housewife who answers her doorbell and only see and hear her end of the conversation. We later learn that a famous actress has rented the house across the way and has asked for a lift to the ferry in Port Jefferson.

What evolves is a view of some very intense actions and realizations as the three go about very human moments before our eyes. We can certainly feel their pain, frustration and embarrassment as the tableau unfolds before us. I don’t think this film is for everyone, but it is very fine movie making. It is critically acclaimed, having won the Sundance award for direction in 2010, as well as other prestigious awards. The cast features Embeth Davidtz, Edie Falco and Elias Koteas and was written and directed by Eric Mendelsohn.