• Director: JT Mollner
• Screenwriter: JT Mollner
• Cast: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr.
• Cinematography: Giovanni Ribisi
• Editing: Christopher Robin Bell
• Score: Craig DeLeon
• Genre: Thriller
• Runtime: 96 minutes

We’ve got 6 chapters in this story of a one-night stand gone wrong, they’re all jumbled up and out of sequence (apart from Chapter 6, which closes the tale). It concerns a hookup between a man (Kyle Gallner) and a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) that has dire consequences for both parties, but done so through an arthouse lens.

Movies that use nonlinear plots are taking a risk with the audience’s patience and comprehension – the clever ones can get away with it. This wasn’t inventive or distinct enough to pull this storytelling technique off however. It’s an attempt to do something artsy with a narrative about a serial killer (who may or may not be real, director JT Mollner is cagey on the inspiration in interviews).

Whilst initially engaging, with each chapter title card flashing up (accompanied by an excerpt of classical music), I grew a little weary. At the start, which – of course – is Chapter 3, we see Fitzgerald’s character (simply named ‘The Lady’) fleeing from a man (credited as ‘The Demon’, played by Gallner). Then comes Chapters 5, 1, 4, 2, then 6. The twisty plot means we don’t follow a simple path and this allows the whole story to be turned up on its head – but this didn’t land the blow it intended (I question everything) and I didn’t feel the characters were compelling enough for me to care about what happens to them. The dynamic between the duo was interesting in Chapter 1 and I liked the neon blue lighting of the motel they’ve parked outside of; the way the light flooded the car. Gallner does his best with the material he’s given but by the sixth chapter, Fitzgerald is slightly irritating, almost as much as the soppy soundtrack.

Strange Darling? More like strained, darling.

My rating: 5 / 10