There will always be films that catch you off guard. These films have cryptic trailers, interesting word of mouth, and endings that leave you with your mouth on the floor. The whole twist-ending concept can be hard to pull off. It’s even harder when you’ve been known to pull them before. But for some directors, there is an approach to the art of filmmaking that very few can pull off: the twist beginning.
Consider the movie Scream. When the trailers came out, there was star Drew Barrymore in a bleached bob, making popcorn and receiving a frightening call, and audiences were hooked. They flocked to the theaters only to find out that Drew is only on-screen for thirteen minutes. It was disarming. Wes Craven was reinventing the horror movie in a way we hadn’t seen before. Or had we?
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To go back further, when the movie Psycho came out in 1960 it was the first false-protagonist film. Janet Leigh was portrayed as the main character. However, the entire plot hinges on the fact that she is murdered. This moment creates the entire plot of the film. This type of disarming leaves an audience scratching their heads and realizing the plot they expected is definitely not what they’re getting.
When you take away the initial fears, the audience has no idea what to do next. We have all been trained to look for foreshadowing, especially in our thrillers. We watch movies like detectives, trying to figure out the clues before everyone else. This gets harder when the entire process is taken out of your hands as you are told “wrong wrong wrong” right up front.
The Apology takes that same trope to create an interesting journey audiences need to experience before the year’s end.
What is The Apology?
Shudder
The official synopsis reads as follows:
This feels very straightforward. Two people are going to talk on Christmas Eve and eventually, something terrible will come out and ruin everything. However, this synopsis gives the same hints as any other movie of this nature while completely leaving out the other 90% of the movie. That’s right, this description is essentially a preamble to the rest of what is a psychological mind game between two people confronting something together while also confronting each other.
Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, recovering alcoholic Darlene Hagen (Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad) is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration with her best friend. On Christmas Eve, Darlene’s ex-brother-in-law (Linus Roache, My Policeman) arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret.
One of the main things to understand about this film is that with its minimal cast and closed-loop setting, it is essentially a play. It is dialogue-heavy and involves conversations that feel like they play out in real time. Although the location does change, this seems to happen solely to give the audience a way to distinguish between different moods as the conversation ebbs and flows between topics.
As an audience member, the concept of what happens next is foiled by what has already happened. However, there is a moment after the early reveal, when you realize that you can sit back and not have to guess anymore. You are now allowed to let the characters breathe, understand their conversation and emotions, and appreciate the dialogue.
This is also where the audience becomes lulled. The movie is aptly titled The Apology for a reason. However, the apology is also not the end of Jack’s plan. He is a selfish man whose apology is deafeningly hollow based on his reasons. Jack feels his apology will make Darlene feel better and allow him to get something he wants more than anything. This then becomes the crux of the rest of the story.
Why The Apology Works
The entire point of this film is to lull you into a conversation that can only take place under the circumstances presented. It is the equivalent of a dark and stormy night for a ghost story. The storm has come, the power is going out, the location is isolated, and the house is secure. Neither of them is getting out and this means they have all night to talk, argue, yell, and cry. This is a film about the stages of grief and confronting truths that shatter when they come from a trusted friend and former lover.
When we as the audience understand what is happening instead of having to guess, we suddenly know exactly which side we are on. There is no mystery to it. There is no reason for us to have any sympathy for a character whose sole purpose seems to be that sympathy is exactly what they want.
In the end, the film plays out in a way that will be satisfying for people who enjoy a one-act stage play. The film adds in a few additional screams and running around, but that may just be to break the tension. However, this is a movie that unravels tension and leaves both the main character and her opposite to discuss something terrible. The end may not be terribly satisfying, but the journey is made all the more interesting thanks to its choice to throw it all at the audience in the first few minutes.
The Apology is available on Shudder and AMC+.
