RED ROOMS – Review

RED ROOMS, a suspenseful character study from Canada, is hard to rate. Some will love it; others will hate it; some will be scratching their heads trying to understand it.

Juliette Gariepy stars as Kelly-Anne, a svelte woman who is the unlikely combination of fashion model and computer genius, using the latter attribute mostly to make big bucks from on-line gambling. Both endeavors give her a lot of discretionary time.

Montreal is mesmerized by the trial of a suspect for the abduction, killing, maiming and snuff-film selling done to three girls in their early teens. There’s ample evidence pointing to him but none to definitively prove he’s the masked monster in the footage that was dealt on the dark web. The title is what the pervs of that ilk call settings for such illegally gruesome displays.

Kelly-Anne is inexplicably obsessed with the lengthy trial, lining up early to get one of the limited gallery seats each day. She starts talking to a fellow follower, Clementine (Laurie Babin). They form a bond based in this mutual interest that seems as unlikely as the horrid crimes that put them in that room.

Kelly-Anne is rich and glamorous, speaking little and more poker-faced about any emotions than an on-line gambler needs to be. Clem is a short, non-stop chatterbox from a small town, with no money to support her intended stay in the city. She’s also firmly and stridently convinced that the defendant isn’t the perp. One is a blank slate; the other is the polar opposite. Even so, Kelly-Anne invites Clem to stay with her for the duration.

The plot from there could go in many directions but winds up doing very little. Neither character has much of an arc. Though there are plenty of references to the content of the films, we never see them and only hear brief snippets. We learn something about why Clem became so obsessed but if that was revealed about Kelly-Anne, I missed it.

The courtroom design is unique. It’s small and all white. That starkness creates a surreal, Kafkaesque atmosphere for all the scenes therein, providing counterpoint to the grisly testimony being presented. There are many moving moments – mostly from the parents of the victims, rather than the two leads. The story also explores media frenzy and societal reactions to such lurid events. Writer/director Pascal Plante holds a mirror up to Western culture but the reflection is open to a wide range of interpretations. The experience is a challenge worth considering.

RED ROOMS opens Friday, Sept 6, at the IFC Center in New York City, with a national roll-out to follow.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars