1BR (Movie Review)

Last Updated on November 15, 2023

PLOT: A young and timid woman wants to start over and move on from her iffy past. Deciding on a creepy apartment in Hollywood, things go from odd to WTF, and quicker than you can say, Scientology, she’s knee-deep in a cult commune.

LOWDOWN: I can dig the ideas presented in 1BR (WATCH IT HERE / OWN IT HERE). We have a weak and susceptible girl (Bloom) who is not only avoiding her past but can’t even take charge of her present. The film sets everything in an eerie complex where everyone is just too damn happy and to top it off, we get a bit of “helpful” torture to even everything out. All the ingredients are there, but instead of an Old Fashioned, I ended up getting a Jack and Coke. Nothing I can’t finish (I ain’t too picky), but this could and should have been a high-grade beverage.

Director David Marmor does a good job setting things up and keeps the tension cranked through most of the film. You aren’t sure who to trust or when everything will tip over, and the use of an apartment building was impressive. Though everyone had a friendly demeanor, it gave off a sad and smothering vibe. The film character Henry Chinaski once said something that describes this place perfectly, “It’s a cage with golden bars.” That’s 1BR’s strength, and I was down for what was next, but the flick ended up losing me when it was all said and done. A solid set-up that couldn’t quite sell me on the whole package.

The flick’s biggest downside is that nobody went above and beyond regarding their characters and that it ends right when things hit peak interest. As far as the characters go, there isn’t ONE break-out star and a great premise can’t save ya when the acting is just passible. Now, there wasn’t a “bad” actor in the bunch and there were even a couple of genuinely emotional scenes. But when we got to a point where we needed a raw or personal response, nobody stood up and hit out a homer. I needed passion, and all I got was a wag of the finger. Unfortunately, It’s lacking in what it needs the most: top-notch performances. It’s a real shame because all the pieces fit in nicely and the set-up was something that even got my ass more paranoid than normal.

I can’t tell if the budget was too small for this type of tale or if the script needed another punch-up, but 1BR never reached the high-level mark of its first half an hour. The cult leader was threatening but never terrifying, and our hero Sarah was sympathetic but never delivered a gut punch when it was called for. She looked scared, but we needed a level of depth that just wasn’t there. The film was just good when it should have been great. The ending teases a big idea and it almost acts as an origin story for our hero, but then the credits roll just as it gets going. This seems like there was an act cut from the script, or it’s the first part of a larger story. I can’t see this getting a sequel, yet it almost demands that it happens.

But don’t get me wrong; the methods and the system set up by our apartment dwellers worked well enough to have me questioning every place I have ever lived in. Was I ever being watched or wiretapped? Who knows! And setting up a mini-society that borrows as much from Kim Jong Un as it does David Miscavige is a direction I’ll journey down anytime. I’d say ‘Please don’t sue’ for my Scientology comments, but if anybody saw what my checking account looked like, I’d more likely get a donation than a lawsuit. I’ve always been intrigued by the powers of perception and the need for safety and acceptance over personal freedoms, and David Marmor executes this premise like a pro and for his first major project, he definitely has potential. The progression of the story and the cult hierarchy felt organic, and it’s the film’s strongest aspect, but when it came down to compelling and captivating performances, 1BR is mostly the promise of something more with little in return. I can appreciate the effort, but this needed to bring it home, and it never came close.

GORE: This got bloody when needed. We got some stigmata going on, a few good stabbings, and a couple of gunshot wounds to round everything out. Color me impressed as this went farther than I expected.

BOTTOM LINE: I suspect that I will be the odd man out on this one, and that is just fine by me. I’m sure 1BR will attract an audience, and if its Rotten Tomato scores are any indication, it already has. It’s not a bad film, per se, but there is nothing worse than seeing real potential squandered. I was never fully engaged and by the next day, it was all but forgotten. While we’re all stuck at home for a little while longer, maybe give this a watch and see if it does something for you. For me, it just didn’t click. I expected a ruby, and all I got was a ruble.

1BR

BELOW AVERAGE

5