The Aviary
Stories of people having to leave cults often lead to questions about how someone could get sucked into that situation in the first place. One of the things that’s so fascinating about “The Aviary” is that it doesn’t really ask those questions- it’s just focused on the people trying to escape, and that particular moment. What led them to that moment of clarity is all that matters, and what they’re struggling against in the aftermath of that choice.
Skylight, in the rough details laid out in directors Chris Cullari and Jennifer Raite’s screenplay, is a combination of NXIVM and Scientology, with a leaning towards the former. If you’ll recall, NXIVM was a multi-level marketing scheme that promoted self-help, and reached it’s height when an all-female group was created that included blackmail and branding. Some of those details are part of Skylight, and it’s part of what led Jillian (Malin Akerman) and Blair (Lorenza Izzo) to leave. They are in the desert the entire 95-minutes of “The Aviary,” with minimal supplies, and only hope that they are following the sun in the right direction. All the while, Seth (Chris Messina), the group’s leader, is an insidious voice rattling around in their heads, leading to paranoia and anxiety about their choice.
The film is simply a two-woman struggle for survival, and sanity, in the aftermath of their decision to escape. Along the way, we learn more about the cult, secrets the two women are keeping from one another, and their respective relationships with Seth. The performances are solid all around, with both Akerman and Izzo giving their roles depth as they start to crack as a result of their journey. That psychological aspect is what keeps us watching “The Aviary” even when the physical journey, and drama inherent, gets too redundant.
