Writer: James Ersted and David R. Larson
Starring: Dylan Nunez, Paul Parducci, Kira Omans, Ari Hader and Alain Mora.
What Happened to Suzie? is an absorbing thriller.
Written by James Ersted and David R. Larson, and directed by James Ersted, this film is composed as a documentary, in the style of a ‘mockumentary’, but with a twist, and 100% in the dramatic genre.
We meet Andy, played by Dylan Nunez, whose sister Suzie disappeared without a trait years before. He is collaborating with a documentary crew to tell his story. They organically build trust and get deeper into the story, including the fact of close family always being suspected first in disappearance cases. Unbeknownst to Andy, Don (Paul Parducci), who as director and main cameraman is the leader of the film crew, is already aware his uncle was the main suspect for a long time- when he tells Andy, alarm bells start ringing, but, after some strong hesitation, Andy ultimately decides to go through with and even deepen the collaboration, and get to the truth of what happened, with grave consequences.
Technically, this film is brilliant. Visually it is gripping, with adept use of a huge variety of points of view, including CCTV footage, screen view of online calls and chats, and unique views from corner windows. The performances are brilliant, with the actors’ naturalism shines through- not an easy feat when playing high tension situations.
The theme of empathy runs all the way through this film- the documentary crew, with the exception of Cynthia (played brilliantly by Kira Omans) shows no emotional interest in Andy’s situation. Don even tells him that whatever Andy gets filmed doing, to add to the piece, ‘doesn’t have to be real, it just needs look that way for the camera’. A big question here is who can we ever really trust with our stories, pain and problems. That’s the difference between being supported, or these spiralling out of control.
The ultimate theme, however, is the power of organised crime, and the destructive effects it has on people, families and even entire communities. Can we ever really combat it?