Mark Reviews Movies: THE APOLOGY

The Apology, RLJE Films

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Review by Mark Dujsik | December 15, 2022

There's only one thing that matters to Darlene (Anna Gunn): What happened to her daughter? That question is more or less answered by the end of the first act of The Apology, and with that out of the way, writer/director Alison Star Locke has to find multiple ways to delay doing anything of real value with the answer.

Some of those tactics are intriguing. Most of them feel contrived and/or generic. The main issue, perhaps, is that Locke writes herself into a corner as soon as the key piece of information is revealed, and instead of trying to get free and to explore the various emotional and moral consequences of that revelation, the screenplay just keeps finding ways to its plot and characters restricted and, well, cornered.

The story is set the night before a big Christmas party, to be held at Darlene's house for the first time in more than 20 years. Two decades ago, her daughter disappeared, and there hasn't been any sign of her or clue as to her fate in all that time. Darlene has never let go of the memory of her daughter or the hope of her return one day, but enough time has passed that, with the help of her best friend Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo) and after being sober for almost as many years, Darlene feels comfortable enough for her life to move forward in at least this way.

It would seem that way, at least. If there's one thing at which Locke exceeds within this movie, it's the establishment and maintenance of the external gloom surrounding Darlene and the character's internal conflict—between trying to appear strong, while everything inside her is just desperation and despair. Gunn is quite good here, even after the screenplay lets down this character by putting her through so many repetitious acts and scenes of dialogue that keep her literally and figurative in one place.

The movie functions better as a claustrophobic drama at the start, as Darlene prepares for the party with Gretchen, heads upstairs to her a bedroom and a bottle of vodka with which she plans to undo so many years of staying sober, and receives an unexpected visitor at her front door. The mood until then is isolating and oppressive, from the location of Darlene's house in the middle of relative nowhere and within a cul de sac of only a few scant house, to the blowing wind and snow reducing sound and visibility, and to the occasional darkness of blackouts from the weather. It's a reflection of the turmoil and uncertainty of Darlene in this moment, trapped in memories and doubt and grief.

As for the knocking at the door, it's coming from Jack (Linus Roache), who was previously Darlene's brother-in-law. He was married to Darlene's unseen sister, but Jack left his family 19 years ago, also never to be seen or heard from again. The two have a history together—a connection that's gradually revealed during a lengthy conversation of generally happy remembrances and more than a hint of regret.

All of this low-key drama quickly transforms into a thriller as soon as a major plot point arrives (The staging of the moment before, in which a series of knives are rearranged in the kitchen, is a quietly unsettling shock). While the entire plot revolves around who reveals what and how Darlene reacts to it, it would likely be unfair to detail the specifics of that information in this review. This much becomes clear: There's an answer to the question that has haunted Darlene for two decades, and she has to decide what to do with this information.

The latter concern, though, becomes overwhelmed by a continuous game of cat-and-mouse, in which Darlene tries to take control of this situation, only to be constantly one-upped by someone else in control and the difficulties of her surroundings. There's no escape from the house, because someone is watching Darlene's every move and the windows are frozen shut from the storm. Her cellphone is taken, and the landline has been cut in anticipation of her calling for help. Any kind of everyday item she could use as a weapon is undermined by the existence of a pistol in the opponent's possession.

With the information established and the stakes in place, there's nowhere else for this plot to go except non-stop conflict, and Locke imagines that as a repeated back-and-forth of one character getting the upper hand over the other, only for the tables to turn over and over again. We receive more back story about the now-solved mystery of what happened to Darlene's daughter, and characters seem to change their minds about motives and actions with every step of the conflict (Darlene has her foe in a perfect position to do something—anything, really—to the person, but she doesn't), simply to keep the story going. One character's ability to get out of just about any binding becomes quite convenient for this, too.

The Apology raises some ideas about guilt and the choice between justice and revenge. Mostly, though, it's a game of trying to maintain some sense of conflict and tension, even if the movie has to manufacture of it.

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