The Mistress, 2023.
Written and Directed by Greg Pritkin.
Starring John Magaro, Chasten Harmon, Aylya Marzolf, Kat Cunning, Eddie Alfano, James Carpinello, Jake Sidney Cohen, Tina D’Marco, Alexandra Grey, and Paul Schackman.
SYNOPSIS:
Newlyweds move into their dream home where they discover a collection of 100-year-old letters from a young woman who committed suicide after being abandoned by the owner of the home.
Everything about The Mistress feels too concerned with the story and less about creating believable characters. That’s also a shame because writer/director Greg Pritkin is working from a solid concept in that newlyweds Parker and Madeleine (John Magaro and Chasten Harmon) settling into their dream home (an 1890 Queen Ann Victorian) began uncovering love letters from an unknown woman to the man of the household, where much of what unspools across that writing is often a parallel for what we are watching and a damning condemnation that things rarely change.
Parker appears to be a loving husband, as we learn at a small housewarming party, he was once (and might still be) saddled with a potentially dangerous stalker ex-girlfriend. There’s also a next-door neighbor, Kat Cunning’s Dawn, lonely and missing her boyfriend, showing up in suggestive clothing that instantly causes Madeleine to pull Parker aside and tell him not to hang around her.
Whether or not this is because Madeleine deems Dawn as trying to seduce Parker or doesn’t trust her husband is left for viewers to uncover, but the issue is that the script hasn’t written the neighbor as anything beyond sexy blonde temptation. There’s such a little character there one begins to wonder if she is the stalker, someone Parker knows, or if there is some supernatural element at play.
As for Parker himself, he is struggling to put together his next novel, looking to meet a traumatized man for inspiration regularly. When he is not doing that, he is haunted by a mysterious woman (Aylya Marzolf) that could be a ghost of the woman in the letters. Regardless of who she is, she is also trying to tempt Parker, who seems more than willing to go along with that. It’s also abundantly clear that Parker is hiding something about his past that will come back and bite him.
However, there also isn’t much to The Mistress beyond an admittedly clever idea of, for lack of spoiling anything, society and history repeating itself. Greg Pritkin adds some moody lighting to the spacious, appealing Victorian home, and there is one strong jump scare upon realizing what Parker has been interacting with (a term I use loosely to avoid spoiling anything). The performances themselves are solid, with John Magaro presenting Parker as the right mixture of seemingly decent and shady, gradually thrust into disarray from the spooky events that occur.
There’s also the lingering feeling that at 105 minutes, The Mistress is too long. A clever idea needs to be fleshed out with similarly compelling characters. Considering the film lacks the latter, the story feels underdeveloped and tedious, even if the ideas are intriguing. There’s also a late-game twist or two that come across as rushed and clumsily implemented. The ensemble almost holds it together, but this is mostly a disappointment that doesn’t fully capitalize on its smart concept.Â
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at [email protected]
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