A Safe Distance, which was directed by Gloria Mercer in her debut feature, had its Canadian premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival last night. It was written by Adrian West and adapted from his short film of the same name. Set in British Columbia, Alex (Bethany Brown) reluctantly agrees to go camping with her boyfriend Joey (Chris McNally) to celebrate eight years together. It’s clear that the spark has long since died for Alex, but Joey doesn’t seem to notice—even when they’re having sex. He’s so oblivious to the atmosphere of his relationship that he decides to propose to Alex, and is confused when she says no. After falling asleep in awkward silence, Alex wakes up to find that Joey has abandoned her in the forest. When trying to find her way back out of the dense trees, Alex trips and hits her head. She’s found by Kianna (Tandia Mercedes) and Matt (Cody Kearsley), a young couple roughing it in their van, who just happen to be the Bonnie-and-Clyde-style bank robbers that have been all over the radio.
With an unsatisfying relationship and a work-from-home office job, Alex finds herself and her life deeply boring. When Joey had proposed, he talked about himself and then left Alex alone when things got hard. She welcomes the excitement brought by Matt and Kianna and is fascinated by their free and passionate off-the-grid lifestyle. Alex does magic mushrooms with them and then watches them make out and have sex, before joining them in a threesome. It’s the passion she has been missing not just from her relationship with Joey, but from her life overall. Matt is also a self-proclaimed feminist, always moaning about capitalism and the patriarchy. Alex sees that she could have a relationship that’s very different to her own, but Matt turns out to be just as full of shit as Joey.
A Safe Distance opens to a serene forest with the sounds of nature, but the calming sound of birdsong is abruptly interrupted by a gunshot. A woman, covered in blood, asks, “What do we do now?” And then we watch her and another woman drag a body out of sight. This opening teased what was to come, allowing the audience to know that Alex and Kianna are going to end up killing either Matt or Joey. It’s okay if you can predict where a story is going, because that means the plot is coherent—not all stories have to have big twists you didn’t see coming. But not all films need to be teased at the start of every story, either. The tension built between Alex, Matt, and Kianna is more than enough to keep the audience invested and eager to see where the story is going. It’s good when you can really go on the same journey as your protagonist, so the cold open wasn’t entirely necessary.
A Safe Distance is visually beautiful thanks to cinematographer Devon Scott making use of the gorgeous backcountry setting. There are stunning shots at night which capture the characters dancing drunkenly in the glow of the campfire. The film is very in touch with nature, immersing the audience in the freedom of the forest as it examines themes of desire, safety, and survival. West really nails the “nice guy” mentality, which provides rich commentary surrounding the ways Alex and Kianna are treated by the men in their lives despite their vastly different lifestyles. A Safe Distance is a character-driven slow burn with strong performances from each actor. I wasn’t always convinced by Mercedes’ casting, but she always managed to pull me back in. Being in the wilderness encourages freedom of expression, which makes the shifting character dynamics very engaging. It’s a tense and gripping experience watching Alex be transformed by her situation, for better or worse.
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