Eroticide (Short)
In Matthew Saliba’s “Eroticide,” Yan (Jocelin Haas) and Elise (Stephanie van Rijn) are at a cafe, celebrating nine months together. Their relationship started in rather unorthodox fashion– he hit her with his car –but they have been together ever since, and and they both seem to make each other happy, although they haven’t had sex yet because of unresolved issues Yan has with how their relationship started. As they’re talking, in walks Kendra (Lisa Di Capa), an old girlfriend of Yan’s who begins to taunt the couple, walking all over them both with her words, although it is obvious that Yan is still hung up on her. That night, Yan and Elise get into a fight, and while Yan calls Kendra “a cancer,” when they make love for the first time that night, Kendra shows up in a deeply unsettling way, leading to tragedy when Yan cannot resist contacting her the next day.
When the running time of a film comes close to 40 minutes, it’s difficult to still consider it a “short,” and it starts inching towards being a feature film. Saliba, however, makes every one of his film’s 38 minutes count as we get deep into the heads of every one of his three characters, even though Kendra’s real feelings don’t get revealed until the very end. The film is a study in emotional fragility, first and foremost, and not one of the character’s is above real heartbreak. What becomes clear, though, is that Yan is far from worthy of Elise, and all you have to do is watch the scene when they make love to know that. Kendra is another matter, and even though she says things at the end that make us think Yan was the real cancer, the fact that she is willing to play the “jilted lover” card so insidiously is evidence that maybe Yan was right to try and rise above the relationship the two had for five years. This sexual and emotional tension between the three wouldn’t work without sharp writing and performances, and all three actors deliver strong work that rings true to the characters every step of the way, even if it leaves us wondering about each one’s real health by the end. But then again, the film closes in tragedy, with the person least responsible for pain ending up being in the most pain, leading to a heartbreaking choice, and a potent way to end this powder keg of emotional complications, orchestrated without mercy by Saliba, just as it should be, under the circumstances.
Extra Thoughts, June 2018:
Rewatching this before an interview with Saliba, it occurs to me that my assertion above that “Yan is far from worthy of Elise” is misguided. Four years removed, I’m a bit more familiar with the idea of toxic relationships, and that is what we are seeing here between Kendra and Yan. Elise is the ultimate victim here, and Stephanie van Rijn is heartbreaking, but Yan is a victim, as well. Yan is not just a victim of Kendra’s sociopathic tendencies, but he’s also a victim of his own sense of self-worth. It’s a fascinating psychological drama, and I really like this movie even more now.
