It’s difficult to fully respond to ‘Affection’

     Imagine waking up one morning, discovering you’re sharing a bed with a man claiming to be your husband in a house you don’t recognize in the middle of nowhere. You know your name is Sarah, but your spouse insists on calling you Ellie. And you’re certain you have a son, but it’s a 10-year-old girl who’s calling you Mommy. Might this discombobulated damsel be in the throes of that old reliable movie trope, amnesia? Or is this a real in-the-flesh nightmare?

    Those are the questions you keep asking yourself repeatedly while in the grip of BT Meza’s writing-directing debut, “Affection.” I emphasize “while” because Meza reveals his hand much too soon, spoiling the intrigue he so successfully generates in his film’s opening scenes. But that does little to diminish the excellent work by Jessica Rothe as Meza’s deeply perplexed heroine, who can no longer believe her own mind.

    There are echoes of Ingrid Bergman in George Cukor’s classic “Gaslight” in Rothe’s portrayal of a woman desperate to understand why her mind is suddenly playing tricks. This opens the door to dozens of existential questions of identity, agency, and, of course, reality. Is she who “they” say she is, or who she “knows” she is? And is life as Ellie all that dire, seeing as she resides on a bucolic farm with a doting, unbelievably patient husband and adoring young daughter who loves her mom almost as much as she loves her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Bunny?

     It all seems so legit, but the hinky feeling that something isn’t quite right is inescapable. Why are there no friends or neighbors, no cell service and no career for this certified computer scientist? Yet what she’s being told must be true because her hubby, Bruce (a blah Joseph Cross), has all the receipts, from dozens of family photos and videos to an intimate knowledge of all of Ellie’s idiosyncrasies.

     True, Bruce is a bit odd. And he does get that crazy look in his eyes from time to time behind those nerdy spectacles. But then you witness how kind and caring his is with Ellie and their teraphobic daughter, Alice (Julianna Layne). Still, his actions, no matter how empathetic, seldom register as genuine.

     Which might explain why Sarah/Ellie struggles to square her increasing comfort around Bruce with her gnawing suspicion that she’s locked in his psychological prison. And you’re right there along with her … until Meza frustratingly throws it all away by jarringly flipping the switch, re-engineering “Affection” from engrossing mystery to ho-hum sci-fi horror. And in so doing, opening the door to gratuitous violence and ever-widening plot holes. Instead of immersing us further in the riddle of Sarah/Ellie’s existence, we’re left questioning the increasingly nonsensical twists that yield confusion more than thrills.

     I wish I could cite these near-fatal missteps, but they involve too many spoilers. So, suffice it to say that credulity and credibility diminish by the minute, as compelling storytelling is superseded by mindless action. Furthering that remove is Menza’s audacity in constructing an ending that presumptuously sets the stage for a sequel.

     I doubt a reunion will occur, but that doesn’t diminish the impressive work by Rothe, the “Happy Death Day” star who is fast establishing herself as a bona fide scream queen. She more than holds your gaze in overcoming the limitations of a half-baked script by convincingly portraying Sarah/Ellie as a smart cookie with enough moxie to vanquish any evil she encounters.

    If, at the end, you’re still feeling even the slightest affection for “Affection,” it’s all due to Rothe and her ability to be as sweet and as mean as she wants to be. It’s in perfect keeping with Meza’s desire to mold her character into a manifestation of his own mother, a grieving widow who married a duplicitous man bent on erasing all aspects of her life before he arrived on the scene.

     I’m sure Meza’s mom was not the only woman who, in haste, failed to adequately vet the man who commandeered her life and those of her children. In that respect, “Affection” is very much a cautionary tale, one that, despite its many flaws, highlights how easily a stranger can rob a family of both its cherished memories and all that once defined it.

Movie review

Affection

Rated: Not rated

Cast: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross and Julianna Layne

Director: BT Meza

Writer: BT Meza

Runtime: 90 minutes

Where: In theaters May 8 (limited)

Grade: B-