-Written by Kyle Bain.
After Alicia (Tatjana Anders) moves in with her boyfriend Mark (Kyle James), she finds that the man she thought she knew is not quite what she expected. Your Reality explores gaslighting and the effect that it can have on the human psyche. As Alicia struggles in her relationship, she is forced to come to terms with the fact that her reality may not be real.
Your Reality avoids using a score through much of the film–and that’s done in order to intensify the conversations between Mark and Alicia. Their words become the focus of the film, and they are what viewers are meant to absorb. Director Top Tarasin ensures that nearly every word throughout the course of Your Reality has meaning. Again, dialogue is the most important aspect of the film, as it’s straightforward for the most part, developing a linear story that effectively sees both Alicia and Mark grow in different ways. The lack of a score throughout the majority of the film juxtaposes the flood of dialogue that exists–and what Tarasin attempted to express to viewers comes through clearly.
That intensity, however, takes a hit as a result of both Anders and James–as I never felt the emotion from them (or any of the other actors for that matter). Your Reality rests heavily on the shoulders of its actors as they are tasked with delivering the plethora of dialogue throughout–but they almost fracture the narrative as a result of their insufficiencies. While it’s clear that both Alicia and Mark are fully immersed in the narrative, their lack of emotion causes the film to falter. Ultimately, it’s subpar acting that hinders the film’s ability to be truly effective.
At one point I believed that Tarasin and Anders (who is also the writer) were attempting to be vague in their expression of this story, that by doing that Your Reality would extend itself beyond just this story and that viewers would be able to connect in a series of different ways. However, in the closing seconds of Your Reality something plays out that is specific to this story, reeling it back in and debunking my theory regarding Anders and Tarasin’s intentions. With that, the disconnect that I had once felt from the characters was rekindled in full–pulling me out of the narrative.
The word of the day is “disconnect.” The characters feel disconnected from their own story at times as a result of them being incapable of accurately expressing emotion, and I felt disconnected from the film as a result of this. Your Reality paints a harrowing picture of gaslighting, and if you’re willing to read between the lines and accept the film’s deficiencies, there’s an important lesson to be learned.
Directed by Top Tarasin.
Written by Tatjana Anders.
Starring Tatjana Anders, Kyle James, MJ Lee, etc.
6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
