Excited for a breakout role, Whitney (Jessica Dawn Willis) feels her better judgment fade away in the first moments of The Woman Under the Stage which is a cautionary tale on following your dreams. While auditioning for her lead in a new stage production Whitney is told by the (1) grey-bearded, neophyte director that the (2) mysterious play by an (3) unknown author who committed suicide on opening night requires all who are involved with the production (4) agree to live at the theater for the duration of the rehearsals.
That is at least four red flags from that particular role! Add a fifth: the director, Terrence Durand (Matthew Tompkins) stridently sound like a beige rant bully, offer no assurance of his qualifications or even his vision for the play. Whitney was blithely offered the role and accepted, it only goes to show the deep-seated nature of her as a dramatic performer, artist and, perhaps, a star one day.
Her live-in boyfriend is not pleased, which seems in harmony with his complete lack of support for her as an actress, so he’s not a roadblock to her moving for a couple of months in order to live at the theater.
It does look like he might be somewhat of a burden towards the relationship between the two of them. However, the new rooming arrangement at the theater with the cast and crew is, at the very best, limiting and cramped.
During rehearsals, the other two performers, Philip (Phil Harrison) and Jesse (Ashley Spicer), are rather poor scene partners. As he has previously demonstrated, Terrence, in achieving that goal, as all tyrant directors do, barks orders but seems not to have a thorough understanding of the characters.
The overall production seems to be like a disaster. The prose in the periphery would best be described as ‘purple,’ and the actors have a hard time trying to bring it into actions. The toss and froes of the limited supporting squad do not help much. In sum, it appears, sounds, and feels excruciating.
Opening, undefined minutes of the movie were filled with nightmarish moments. Later on in the movie, the same Whitney continues to particulate through unsettling moments of a theater where she had spent some alone controlled time in. Although Whitney is determined to push on regardless of every merrily of her choice, it’s only a matter of time until her commitment will leave her at odds with some and become the source of disdain for others.
Jessica Dawn Willis is unobtrusively impactful as Whitney, who will do everything to practice her art on any stage regardless of its size. The Woman Under The Stage, directed by Ezekiel Decker, might be best described as an intense psychological drama with horror elements as a secondary theme. The screenplay was also written by Decker and Logan Rinaldi.
The film does an excellent job with the use of limited stage props, attention grabbing sound effects, rapid cuts, and nimble camera work courtesy of Evan Burns and Marc Rouse. In addition, the film does a powerful job of illustrating the idea that you should pay more attention to warning signals that are meant to save your life.
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