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Matrundola’s family road trip short is
equivalent to something you’d find in an average Wes Anderson film. A
disconnected woman who constantly boots boyfriends from her life is
forced to re-unite with her brother, and estranged niece for the funeral
of their mom, and suddenly we’re given family issues aplenty. Incest,
divorce, bad parenting, it’s all here, and Matrundola pulls it off with
finesse. The characters we see in “Estranged” are rather unlikable
people, and that’s the intent. These people are obnoxious, they’re
despicable, and often times shrill, and Matrundola paints them in that
light while retaining the audiences sympathy and interest to see where
it’s all headed.
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Matrundola, and writer Simard
creates the picture of family discord in a rather twisted
manner showing our main character Chloe as a truly messy
woman who can’t seem to find the right man. When her brother
comes along to take her to their mom’s funeral, we suddenly
discover that in rather disturbing manners. All the while we
bear witness to these three people with unresolved issues of
abandonment who have to be around one another whether they
like it or not, and it works. |
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“Estranged” sports some rather good
performances from
Freya Ravensbergen
as Chloe the woman who just can’t find happiness, and Paul Burke as
the put upon Julian. “Estranged” is an entertaining dysfunctional
family short, with talent behind every inch of film, and I rather
enjoyed it. We can’t all be the Brady’s.
Though, I admit the performance by
Éléonore
Lamothe is rather over the top and manages to stick out from the rest of
Matrundola’s picture. She chews the scenery with her smart allecky
adolescent character that is experiencing her own issues while being
forced to confront these adults who are almost as twisted as she is. I
just didn’t enjoy Lamothe, in all her stilted dialogue delivery, even
when she served her purpose as a catalyst for the unfolding of events.
Matrundola's dyfunctional dramedy is an entertaining and pretty twisted
piece of work with overall very good performances, an engaging story,
and characters that are unlikable but oddly engaging to watch.
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