The big secret in Freud isn’t all that big — or secret. In fact, the short film from Madison-based Living Storm Productions isn’t too concerned with plot twists and shocking reveals, and even with a setup primed for surprises: A helpless psychiatrist (Jordan Peterson) regains consciousness only to find that he’s tied to a chair in a strange warehouse and staring down the barrel of a deranged man’s (Brian Belz) gun. As soon as the tape’s been ripped off his mouth, Peterson’s begging for an explanation. Eventually, we get one, but it’s how we get that explanation that’s far more compelling.
Tightly wound and slick as can be, Freud can be as surreal and nebulous as its performances are visceral. Belz’s revolver-toting lunatic is constantly tossing back his mop of hair, bending his frame to and fro and ducking in and out of side tangents about canceled television shows and vague philosophical questions. There’s more than a shred of Heath Ledger’s Joker here, an influence that’s blurred and fuzzed out by DP Steven Dean’s fluorescent cinematography and a singular camera that floats between the drama. Even when director Jeff Blankenship focuses his lens on Belz’s interrogation, the warehouse’s dreamy haze blurs the immediacy of punches to Peterson’s gut. Nathan Levy’s crystalline, piano-driven score is fragile but flexible, moving from coldness to tender reflection with ease in a manner as unpredictable and amorphous as the film’s psychopath.
Spoiling what Belz and Peterson (or “Freud” as he’s pejoratively called) have in common and specifically, why their lives are connected isn’t fair. Belz’s agenda is as shuffled as the deck of cards he produces for his mind games, but playing his game is more fun than determining a winner or loser. Freud embraces the darkness and pain, and the ensuing numbness raises more questions of what was even there to begin with.
- Freud headlines an afternoon of local film projects at the High Noon Saloon on Sun, Aug 2 at 12:30p. Check the Facebook event for updates on the full program. Admission is $5.