★★★✰✰
Director Kelsey Egan’s first feature film is a multilayered science fiction flick whose thoughtful exploration of complex topics outshines its melodramatic plotting and occasionally awkward dialogue.
Taking place during an unspecified period after the COVID-19 pandemic where a dementia-causing virus called “the shred” infects the air outside, Glasshouse focuses on five individuals who’ve built a safe haven for themselves. They reside in a large greenhouse—carefully managing their crops, individual obligations, and sanity through daily rituals that remind them of who they are and of their connections to each other. Mother (Adrienne Pearce) makes sure that everyone knows their place and maintains established norms. Bee (Jessica Alexander) is an independent soul, eagerly awaiting the return of her dearly beloved brother Luca. Evie (Anja Taljaard), on the other hand, strictly follows rules and feels responsible for what happened to her own brother, Gabe (Brent Vermeulen), who was exposed to the shred and is quickly losing his faculties before her eyes. Joining them is Daisy (Kitty Harris), the youngest member whose mindset has been warped by their harsh living conditions. When Bee spots a mysterious man (Hilton Pelser) that she thinks is Luca, she brings him back home, creating an anxious, uneasy situation for the social bubble to contend with.
Egan and company bring to life an unnerving environment that’s shrouded in ambiguity. Filmed within the real-life Pearson Conservatory in South Africa, Glasshouse rarely leaves the grounds of the titular structure, bathing scenes in white light that lends a fittingly hazy, clouded feel to proceedings. Add to that hand-stitched costuming resembling clothing from the Victorian era, and Glasshouse renders a setting that’s difficult to place at a single point in time; a future that’s stuck repeating the past, continuing a standard solidified by what’s come before.
Indeed, it almost seems like the central characters have built their own little Eden, albeit an Eden offset by the gored husks of trespassers they’ve harvested for soil nutrients and literal glue to help hold their shelter together. The family’s litanies safeguard their remembrances and give them organization amid the apocalypse, creating a sense that these people have formed their own, separate society. Thanks to all this, they seem decidedly off from the get-go, perhaps accounting for their fitfully unnatural dialogue. Of course, the stranger (to whom Pelser lends a shadowy aura) disrupts the sense of order they’ve cultivated. His arrival turns up the heat considerably for Bee, who eagerly throws herself into his arms without fully considering who he is.
Bee is a naive woman, understandably craving the human connection that she’s lacked for so long. Alexander believably captures her innocence and growing attachment. Evie is a more sensible presence, conveyed by Taljaard in a convincing, big sister fashion as she becomes wary of the stranger yet is still allured by him on some level. Vermeulen’s performance is solid though primarily relegated to outbursts. Harris is creepily effective, and Pearce successfully embodies a leader whose persona revolves around keeping her family’s story alive.
Steamy, hormone-driven antics ensue, along with an icky potential incest arc and several plot twists that try, and largely succeed, to throw viewers off balance. The film is held back by a 90 minute runtime that speeds the plot along, especially in its extremely eventful final act, but thankfully wrapping your head around Glasshouse is a consistently rewarding experience.
Egan’s film is particularly stimulating for how it tackles the concepts of tradition, trauma, grief, and identity. Here, the stories one is told provide direction for living one’s life, possibly manufactured to shield from darker truths. Glasshouse also considers the ways one’s memories represent a double-edged sword in a world that’s out to tear them apart in body and in mind.
Never less than contemplative even when it threatens to buckle under the weight of its ambitions, Glasshouse is an undoubtedly confident debut. The door is open, and intrigued viewers should definitely venture inside.
The Verdict
A distinctive vision, Glasshouse isn’t exactly airtight, but it signals the arrival of a director to keep an eye on. A thematically rich drama brought to life by a capable cast, Glasshouse will stick with viewers long after the end credits roll.
Glasshouse is currently screening as part of the Fantasia Film Festival 2021.
Words by Alex McPherson
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