CineVegas Review: ‘Asylum Seekers’

In our contemporary society of living bigger, better, faster — keeping up with the Jones’ and putting on facades and masks to prove we’re someone different, someone more-than or less-than, it’s not difficult to connect a level of insanity to the lives we lead from day to day, slowly trading the lives we have in for the hopes of a life we want someday in the future.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an extremely creative visual adventure of six individuals seeking to escape this crazy world we live in by checking themselves into an exclusive insane asylum that promises to encourage their full mentally unstable potential. What ensues is a sort of extreme reality TV style competition for the one and only vacancy at the asylum, conducted by Nurse Milly under the supervision of the mysterious Dr. Beard, whose voice echoes throughout the asylum by way of wall-mounted speakers.

The eccentric cast of mental patients is diverse, including Maud (Pepper Brinkley) the trophy mouse-wife obsessed with preparing for having a child that does not exist, Alan (Bill Dawes) the gender-bender rapping stockbroker, Alice (Stella Maeve) the cybernetic Lolita, Miranda (Camille O-Sullivan) the introverted exhibitionist, Paul (Lee Wilkof) the Evangelical nihilist, and Dr. Raby (Daniel Irizarry) the virgin nymphomaniac.

Writer and director Rania Ajami delivers a visually poetic and explosive film that is both mind-boggling and thoughtful. The film serves as a commentary of a world we live in that can seem so crazy that submitting one’s self to an asylum is a relaxing escape. ‘Asylum Seekers’ is rich with a vivid color palette and kinetic cinematic energy that’s in your face and alive with stylistic flair. This contrasts with the white, sterile rooms of the asylum to further emphasize the visual effect.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is an odyssey that evokes the influence of several films. The characters, the style and the structural approach of the film often resonate memories of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with brief musical moments and enigmatically offbeat dialogue. At the same time, the interaction of Nurse Milly and the journey taken by the six potential residents carries a familiar connection to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even The Wizard of Oz emerges as an influence, with the characters seeking something they do not have at the mercy of Dr. Beard’s mysterious authoritative voice.

Given the intense and occasionally slightly perverse style of the film, ‘Asylum Seekers’ is also a hilarious romp of intelligent absurdity. Not all of the humor is successful, whereas certain moments clearly intend to evoke a laughter that is substituted with an awkward silence. These moments however are easily forgotten as most of the humor does work. Irizarry was particularly effective in his performance of Dr. Raby who is the most outrageous character in the film.

‘Asylum Seekers’ is not an easy film to follow, often asking a lot of the viewer in it’s over-the-top production, but with some time to digest the film it does leave a pleasant and rewarding aftertaste that actually invites interpretation and discussion. The film lingers on the brain and the ending especially has a lot to offer. From the costume design to the props, the overall effect of ‘Asylum Seekers’ is to transport the audience into a fantasy world only minimally removed from ours. Pop culture references appear from time to time, but the most obvious is a scene that plays on the popularity of American idol. The story becomes a sort of Aesop’s Fable, leading to a touching end that toys with an idea of the lost innocence of childhood and the playful peace at which it rests.