Review of "Is This the Bed We Lie In?" by JAM Productions & Joseph McGovern

Score: 82/100 (8.2 out of 10)

Relationships begin and relationships end.
Feelings evolve and feelings change.
And sometimes, the people we love become strangers we no longer recognize.

Is This the Bed We Lie In? directed by Joseph McGovern is an emotionally resonant short film that explores the quiet unraveling of a relationship through poetic introspection and emotional tension.

Above all, this short film is thought-provoking, sparking a lot of questions and implications in a brief amount of time. Even the title prompts the question: Do we cause our relationships to fail? Is it our fault? Our partner's fault? Or is it something that just happens?

The core of this story begins with Jennifer (played by Constance Reshey), deep in contemplation and stating, "Is this it?"

This sets the tone for a powerful conversation between Jennifer and her husband, Robert (played by Joel Blanco), that shakes their lives and their worlds to the core. It begs the question: Is anything truly indestructible? Does anything truly last forever?

Not diamonds.
Not the Earth.
Not marriage.

In this back-and-forth exchange between the couple/former couple, both try to come to terms with the way they feel and the uncertaint future that waits in front of them. Jennifer in particular seems to wrestle with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and excitement about exploring her lesbian (or possibly bisexual) leaning. She has clearly wrestled with these feelings for some time, perhaps with uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and confusion. This is something that a lot of LGBTQ+ people go through. They often have to confront questions like:

Why do I feel the way that I do?
Why do I feel differently from the cis or heterosexual people around me?
Will I be excepted?
Will I be rejected?
Will I cut myself off from the people I love? Will they cut me off from them?
If they truly loved me, wouldn't they accept me unconditionally?

It could be argued that there's a small hint of Jennifer's LGBTQ+ leaning as she's shown looking at a beautiful athletic female model in a magazine she's holding. But our first interpretation of this scene wasn't so much that she's attracted to the female model, but that she's just seeing how young (in comparison) the model is and how full of hope she appears to be. Perhaps she sees the model as exemplifying the idea of possibilities and opportunitities.

We all look at advertisements sometimes and are drawn in by the promises—the happy, smiling people; the nice cars, the good looking partners. Perhaps that's how Jennifer feels.

Perhaps it's a mix of both.

Our favorite moment in this short film is when Jennifer comes up and hugs Robert from behind while he's sitting at the edge of the bed, reassuring him despite the fear and hurt they feel, and actually expressing a little bit of lasting care for him. Just because you break up with or divorce someone doesn't mean you hate them forever or never want anything to do with them. Parents who share custody of children often share a tenuous albeit mutually-caring and respectful relationship with the ex-partners they've had children with. Some people who've been divorced often remain friends and acquaintances.

There's a part of this embrace that says, "A part of me will always care about you. You're not forgotten. You're not unloved. You're not uncared for. You'll be ok."

Perhaps the thing about this part of the scene that stood out to us the most was how hopeful and excited Jennifer seems to feel about her future. She seems excited and hopeful about exploring her sexuality. She even smiles. This smile is—alongside the closing shot—the only hint of joy in this film.

This film otherwise has a really dreary, angsty, somber feel.

Another thing you might be able to extract from this short film is that Robert appears to be getting dressed for something, wearing a dress shirt and tie. Why would he be getting dressed up if he were getting divorced? We like to think that it might be because he's getting ready to start seeing people and dating again. However, somewhat contradicting this, he still wears his wedding band as if still trying to hold on to his marriage. It's very deliberate as we get close-up shots of his band when he rubs his eyes near the end.

The other part of this film that's quite powerful and beautiful is the last shot: a framed photo of the happy, smiling couple sitting on their nightstand. The remote control and vase really give the audience the impression that they had a good run and that the home they're living in is truly "lived in." There's a real sense of tragedy to it.

This is what they had.
This is what they've lost.
This is what they're leaving behind.

So, the concept and emotional resonance of this film are solid.

As far as being a quality, entertaining film that you'd want to show to your friends, family, neighbors, aunties, and uncles like it's Titanic, Avengers Endgame, or even the latest telanovela? Not so much.

This might get a good grade for a college Psychology project, but it isn't quite something you'd expect to see in a theater or on TV.

First of all, it's incredibly short (about 5 minutes) to the point of seeming sparse and rushed. No, we're not saying the production seemed rushed, we're saying that the plot and the character arcs seemed rushed. Case in point: Jennifer goes from "Is this it?" to "I'm attracted to women now, by the way, and I'm leaving you because of it" in the span of 5 minutes. Well, that was... quick. You figured all that out in the time Robert had to tie his tie, say a few lines, and sit down in front of you?

It kind of doesn't seem realistic, natural, or organic in that sense.

Another thing that we didn't quite like about the film was the choice of lighting. The whole set is showered in this pinkish-purplish-magenta tint. We get that it might be trying to set the mood or convey the idea of this taking place at night (it's very possible this film was shot day for night), but it actually cheapens the look of the film.

In good, clear lighting this may have looked a lot better and more professional.

This overly stylized, exaggerated lighting kind of looks tacky to us, unfortunately, sort of like an Instagram filter on an image that would've looked great if it was just allowed to stand in natural light.

The film was shot in 4K with a Sony FS5 and Atomos Shogun, and that the director personally spent five years completing the post-production—rotoscoping over 100,000 frames for visual effects and color continuity. It sounds like a monumental effort!

And he would not give up on this project, which is commitment that should be commended.

Another issue we noticed was audio. There are times when it's challenging to hear Robert, in particular. He sounds like he's mumbling, muttering, or talking under his breath, which is understandable given the emotional weight of the scene and what his character must be feeling. Maybe this isn't so much an issue with Blanco's acting or even his projecting, but possibly just with the placement of the boom mic. Maybe it's just too far away from the actor? We weren't in the room or studio, so we don't know, but we can see and hear the result.

On that note, some of Jennifer's lines sound dubbed over in post-production, particularly the key line "Is this it?" In fact, this line is repeated twice, and the second time sounds jarringly edited in, seemingly even using the same clip, the same pose (for Jennifer), the same angle, and the same audio. You could argue that it's put in there a second time for emphasis or for poetic reasons (like the chorus of a song or a thesis statement) but it does stand out in a glaring way.

Still, Is This the Bed We Lie In? has a meaningful core. Its themes are universally relatable, its emotional beats are heartfelt, and the performances are sincere. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s a passion project in the truest sense of the word.

Check it out HERE!