What begins as a chance encounter in a Portland record store slowly unfurls into a manipulative, offbeat love triangle that neither the participants nor the audience are fully prepared to navigate.
Written and directed by Daniel M. Hill, Beth + Jeremy and Steve is a moody, sharp, and quietly funny romantic dark comedy that takes the messy entanglements of human desire and elevates them into a surreal, bittersweet tapestry of longing and heartbreak. The film explores the intersection of two very different worlds: Beth and Steve, a couple in their mid-thirties, and Jeremy, a teenage swimmer in high school. It’s a fun mix of films such as The Other Woman, 500 Days of Summer, and I Think I Love My Wife. The story kicks off with a chance meeting between Beth and Jeremy in a record store, a fleeting, almost accidental connection that quickly becomes something more. Fueled by their mutual love of music and the unspoken ache of wanting something else, their relationship drifts from innocent curiosity to a taboo entanglement that both excites and unsettles.
Hill’s script doesn’t shy away from the inherent messiness of this dynamic. He’s interested not in the neat arcs of romance but in the jagged, conflicting impulses that drive people to betray, to forgive, and to cling to fleeting moments of connection. Beth and Jeremy’s affair is portrayed not as some grand, romantic gesture but as an impulsive act of desperation, a way to fill the silences in their lives. The film’s dark humor is one of its most surprising strengths. Hill understands that love triangles, particularly messy, morally fraught ones, can be as funny as they are tragic. He finds humor in the absurdity of these characters’ attempts to navigate their desires, using dry, acerbic wit to undercut the heavier moments. It’s a tonal balancing act that keeps the film from becoming too self-serious, even as the story grows more intense.
Beth played by Briana Ratterman is torn between the comforting familiarity of her broken marriage and the youthful spark she finds in Jeremy. Jeremy played by Lucas Friedman wavers between teenage urges and the vulnerability of someone just beginning to understand the cost of desire within a woman already taken. Matthew Dibiasio, who portrays Steve, exhibits simmering intensity and an unsettling charm. He is the film’s third party, the jealous husband whose increasingly erratic behavior hints at a darkness beneath the surface. He’s both a seeming victim of betrayal and an instigator of chaos, as his presence adds tension that underpins every scene. Steve’s need for control and fear of losing Beth turn the film’s love triangle into a volatile, spiraling tornado, where every glance and whispered conversation feels exploitive.
Visually, Beth + Jeremy and Steve leans into stylized, atmospheric cinematography, hazy neon glows, sharp framing, and artful compositions that evoke a dreamlike state of inner dialogue in certain scenes. The use of color and light reflects the shifting emotional currents of the characters. The music and score, play a crucial role in underscoring the emotional texture of the film. Hill’s keen ear for song choices and ambient synth melodies adds a lush, almost hypnotic quality that mirrors the characters’ frantic sense of longing. Music isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a shared language for Beth and Jeremy, a secret code of connection that Steve can never quite crack.
Beth + Jeremy and Steve delivers a moral lesson: stay out of the middle of married people’s drama. The film doesn’t offer easy answers or neat resolutions. Instead, it asks: Is the messiness of relationship affairs really worth it? In the end, Hill’s film doesn’t pretend to be a love story. It’s about the fallout of love, the murky spaces where passion, guilt, and longing overlap. It’s an atmospheric, stylish, and surprisingly funny take on the power of connection, and the price we pay when we cross the lines we swore we never would. If you’re looking for a straightforward romance, this ain’t that! But if you’re willing to wade into the murky waters of yearning and betrayal, Beth + Jeremy and Steve is a ride worth taking.