Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex sees Maggie (Abigail Esmena) and Tyler (Jared Pettit) struggle through their relationship–ultimately deciding that the best course of action is to separate. But what happens when your ex has nowhere to go and they have to continue living with you? While the two hash out all the details of their unique situation, emotions rise to the surface, and the truth that has been hiding for years may just rear its beautiful head.
Director J.W. Cox and Writer Pettit fit a ton of exposition into the opening moments of the film, but it’s never overwhelming or frumpy. I mean we get everything from the details of the couple’s most recent date to the stupid decisions that Tyler makes on a regular basis to the fact that this is a very unbalanced relationship and more (and that’s just in the first two minutes). The exposition is smooth, enticing, and honest–and while some of the details may feel a tad extraneous, every word is used to develop these two characters and their story. Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex is a powerful short film, and Cox and Pettit use every second of it to strengthen its meaning and ensure that viewers get the most out of their experience.
I love Esmena and Pettit’s voices and their demeanors throughout the course of the film. Even as their moods fluctuate and a series of emotions shine through, they remain even keeled and simple. There’s something incredibly familiar about them, and I think viewers need that familiarity in order to appreciate the film. Emotion runs wild throughout this film, but Esmena and Pettit are the ones that manufacture that emotion through their grace and expertise. Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex is guided by two individuals that use every piece or their repertoire to bring their characters to life–and they deliver beautifully at every turn.
I laughed out loud on numerous occasions. I cringed, I teared up, and I experienced just about every other emotion that you could think of. Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex is an emotional roller coaster, no, more like emotional Ninja Warrior. Viewers are constantly knocked down, beaten, and yet we fight to get back into the game–fully prepared to follow Maggie and Tyler to the ends of the earth. Viewers have never before seen these specific characters, and yet we know exactly who they are, right down to the deepest fibers of their being.
Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex is a film that you have to watch more than once. That’s a result of the emotions being so prominent that you’ll likely forget to look at the beautiful nuances of the film from an artistic point of view. I was so immersed in this world and so set on fighting back tears that I couldn’t muster the strength to look at anything else during my first viewing. I was floored by the performances and the constant barrage of emotion thrown at me, so much so that I didn’t even want to look at other aspects of the film. Ground Rules for Living with Your Ex is an emotional journey that never relents–hitting every emotional note throughout.
Directed by J.W. Cox.
Written by Jared Pettit.
Starring Abigail Esmena & Jared Pettit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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