How these rich people deal with a death in their home.
The death of a stripper has failed in the raunchy comedy genre of both sexes in “Very Bad Things” and “Rough Night.” The drug overdose of a white girl has set off a chain of reactions with the African American dark comedy “Emergency.” And “Weekend at Bernie’s” has developed a cult following and a sequel.
Now the genre continues in “The Trouble with Jessica,” and I did an interview with the writer/director Matt Winn about the film. He says the title is inspired by “The Trouble with Harry,” other Hitchcock movies, and independent films set in New York City.
The story is set in the U.K. and features upper class citizens and how they would react to a sudden death in their mist. I’m neither rich nor poor, and so, it’s fun for me to see how these people deal with something like this. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself, so let me clarify in the next few paragraphs.
Despite their financial troubles, Tom (Alan Tudyk) and his wife Sarah (Shirley Henderson) invite their friends Richard (Rufus Sewell) and Beth (Olivia Williams) to dinner, both shocked that they have invited Jessica (Indira Varma) as well. Despite the fact that she has just written a successful book, the Mrs. is not too please with Jessica coming to dinner, as she accuses her of being her husbands’ mistress (she tells her: “Just for one even, can you just not flirt with my F***ing husband?!”).
Tom and Sarah have a potential buyer of their house, but that chance might be threatened when Jessica hangs herself on their tree on their property. At first, I assumed she was faking it or having a fake body, because she did joke about being raped once. But that isn’t the case here.
What really sets the two upper class couples is the question: What happens if they call the ambulance and this makes the papers?
There are many titles used in the film like “The Trouble with Friends,” “The Trouble with Neighbors,” “The Trouble with the Law,” and “The Trouble with Rich People.” I think you get my point as different characters come to the house at the worst possible time. A neighbor (Anne Reid) wanting her book signed by the deceased, the police checking in, and the potential buyer himself (Sylvester Groth) checking out the place.
We also have tensions within the two couples regarding their life choices and personalities, and how they’re on the verge of destroying what they have. And about the suicide story, Winn also told me that when his film premiered in Paris, a family complimented him on the film, especially since they lost of their sons to suicide. And therefore, he wanted to explore the comedy and pathos within.
“The Trouble with Jessica” is miles ahead of “Very Bad Things” or “Rough Night,” not only because of the directions that Winn takes within the genre, but also for the way he develops the characters through their pathos. And believe me, it’s not just Jessica’s death they should be concerned about. Even though the neighbor segments get a little exhausting, there’s a lot of impressive work from the cast, especially from Henderson, Williams, and Groth.
Earlier this year, I reviewed “My Dead Friend Zoe” and “The Friend,” which are also about comical friends committing suicide. The former delves into the subject matter deeper than the latter, but both films are entertaining and likable in their own ambiance. “The Trouble with Jessica” joins the roster, but this time, it chooses to satirize the rich and how they deal with the body and their friendship within.
I doubt you’ve heard of this film, being that it’s distributed by the independent company Music Box Films. So, I guess another title would be: “The Trouble with People Not Reading Reviews.” But if you do read this review, you might like it.
In Select Theaters This Friday