Awkward family tension gets a sublimely demented makeover in Adam Christian Clark’s Caroline and Jackie, a brooding psycho-drama that hits the ground running when it comes to uncomfortable sibling interactions.

Transpiring over one long weird dinner party that changes location and temperament frequently, Clark’s debut feature is a surprisingly observant and tonally complex chamber piece that keeps us guessing about its characters all the way to the final scene. Before we arrive at the truth, we are treated to a pair of fiercely brave and empathetic performances by Bitsie Tulloch (Grimm) and Margeurite Moreau (The Mighty Ducks), who elevate the film beyond its modest intentions.

Tulloch’s Jackie finds herself under the microscope when a belated surprise birthday party transforms into a planned intervention spear-headed by her sister Caroline (Moreau).  Although she seems legitimately perplexed and wounded at Caroline’s adamant accusations, all of Jackie’s close friends, including boyfriend Ryan (David Guintoli), are certain of her anorexia and alcoholism without having witnessed it for themselves. The incendiary moment where they spring this on her happens about five minutes in and sets the tone for an incredibly taut evening of emotional cat and mouse. When Jackie storms out of the house, the others momentarily worry about her whereabouts and then transfer the party to the backyard where beer and fireworks become the new order of business.

As the night wears on, Clark gives us insight to the deficiencies of all of these people, singling out Caroline and Jackie as we gather the facts and question the guilt or innocence of each. He doesn’t make it easy for us. Tulloch’s put-upon Jackie is indeed thin enough to be plausibly suffering and her trip to the bar for Scotch raises an eyebrow or two.  Meanwhile, Caroline is an instigative, turbulent flirt who redirects attention the moment her sister is out of the picture, sexually honing in on Ryan in the process. Who is telling the truth becomes complicated, but as Moreau starts to unpack Caroline’s true personality, issues of blame and responsibility seem to matter less and less. There are invigorating twists and turns that culminate in a moment that is satisfying in the way it lays bare everything there is to say about these two women and their relationship.

Back to Tulloch and Moreau, who make this a must see for fans of intimate, small-scale drama. Both are beautiful women who take their physical appearances and mine them for internal frailties and insecurities, all the while holding the screen with a presence and charisma their characters couldn’t even conceive of. Their chemistry suggests they could be real sisters, and when their histories prove to be more tangled than their friends know, both women are up to the challenge of summoning unmistakable psychic turmoil. As a fan of NBC’s Grimm, it’s also a treat to see Tulloch and Guintoli play another pair of strained lovers, their cautious dance of wills in this film confirming that the supernatural tv series would benefit if their romance weren’t so often sidelined. Guintoli’s Ryan isn’t a likable guy, but the actor’s willingness to play him without even basic self-awareness musters a comedic vein that the rest of the film lacks.

Caroline and Jackie is an uncommonly absorbing movie, the final product of a director who knew exactly what he was going for emotionally and actors who used his improvisational style to build authentically real people from suggested concepts.  Clark sets the stage with an eye for detail that makes almost every interaction nerve-wracking because of its potential to spill over into psychological warfare. He has a background in reality television and dials up the scintillating promise of dysfunctional conflict with lots of quiet spaces and creepy editing that abruptly dislocates us from one set of actors in mid implosion while effortlessly picking up with another one room over.

Although the pacing is very deliberate, there’s not much fat here. The conflagration that begins with Caroline and Jackie spreads out to the others and by the end, there’s not a line of dialogue that hasn’t played some part in the overarching structure. This might be a domestic train wreck of epic proportions, but it’s a lovingly crafted one, from which it is impossible to look away.

Caroline and Jackie is available on VOD and now in limited release.

Grade: B+

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