Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE INTRUDER [AFI Fest 2020 - Virtual]
The essence of the mind moving towards textures of what it believes is right and needed is a tricky course. Certain illnesses can paint the idea of motivation without explaining the true nature of their cause. With "The Intruder", the path of the lead character Ines (played by Erica Rivas) has the essence of dreams painted within a reality that is not quite true. Like "Open Your Eyes", upon which the Tom Cruise film "Vanilla Sky" was based, "The Intruder" uses the misplaced perceptions to form windows into what this lady is feeling and therefore experiencing. The beginning of the film, even before the title comes up, is a progression in perception which is kept quiet until closer to the end of the film. Without giving spoilers, it progresses as a mystery that the lead character almost doesn't want to embrace. The question becomes what characters are real or have become constructs of her psyche. Rivas plays the role with a mix of terror and complacency which in many ways can be a coy kind of style but works well here, especially when it reveals itself in a closing shot. The aspect of her character being a voice actor who is also in a choir reflects the metaphor of being someone else's mouthpiece versus the inevitable Greek chorus telling her essentially to do something different. The reasoning of the film is sound but leaves enough detail out of it that some of the pieces essentially don't fit. While this is on purpose, it would have been nice to have shown slightly more context. The narrative exists in its own sustained bubble creating a focused view without exercising or embracing an eventual consequence.B-
By Tim Wassberg
