I admit I was a bit skeptical about approaching “At Capacity” because a lot of these films always feels so cynical, Thankfully, Spencer Jamison is so talented she lends a fresh gloss to a tired formula. Having had its world premiere at the LA Shorts International Film Festival, “At Capacity” is an entertaining and intelligent romance comedy about serendipity and salvaging good out of what might seem irreversibly bad.
Mia has one task for the evening: break up with the smooth-talking charlatan, Andrew. When things don’t go according to plan, she’s pulled into an unexpected evening with Andrew’s cousin, Ari. As a seasoned political operative, Mia has strong opinions on the way the world works. However, with the earnest and endearing Ari, she’s met her match. A film about connection, the ways we protect one another, and the potential for serendipity when we live moment to moment.
Director Spencer Jamison is great at staging scenes and engaging us in intimate moments that are pegged as more awkward interaction. Jamison is paired well with Ari Montoya who begins as something of a shifty personality is quickly fallen in to Mai’s favor when kicking back important issues with her. The whole idea of “At Capacity” is whether or not she’s heading in to another bad relationship or not.
While it’s left delightfully ambiguous, I was very fascinated in seeing where this situation would end up. Ari seems like she’s always one step ahead, so maybe she knows something that we don’t.