Spoiler: this was really good!

Ted Raimi plays James, a fairly wealthy owner of a factory who is deep in debt and various financial troubles. At the same time, his daughter is getting married, his ex-wife is demanding money, his business partner is demanding money, the bank is demanding money. Pretty much everyone. He is pushed to the edge.

And Raimi does a masterful job of not only portraying a complex and understated character, but doing the whole film in one, single unedited take.

It’s not just a gimmick, not just showing off. Kudos to Ernesto Lomeli for cinematography and especially Jun Li, camera operator, for pulling it off. The effect is intimate, close, slightly claustrophobic. It somehow increases tension, as we can only see the scene from a single point of view, no cutaways and reverse, reaction shots. It all takes place in a fairly limited setting and feels like an excellently-directed and performed play.

Oh, and James seems to be hallucinating the ghost of his deceased father. I think. The character is mostly in the background, but occasionally addresses James directly. When James speaks with him his attitude takes on a childish aspect, his voice whiny and petulant. The character is only called The Unknown Man (Noel Douglas Orput) though. Is it a memory, a ghost, a hallucination, imaginary friend, something else? It is never explained explicitly, and part of the fun is trying to figure this mystery out, as well as the mystery of how James is going to deal with all of his problems without exposing his family to some of the darker parts.

Like Slavko (Ernest Cavazos), the taciturn “cleaner” he hires, clearly someone he has used multiple times in the past suggests maybe some organized crime connection. But very little is stated out in the open.

At first James seems like a put-upon sad sack, pathetic, lost, moping, drinking expensive whiskey and hiding out in his ridiculously old-money mansion. Then when Michael (John Paul Medrano) comes in, demanding money, we see that Raimi can also swing some pretty tense menace. And the threat seems to come very naturally to the character, insinuating some rough past.

And like anything a Raimi is part of, there is lots of endearing humor to keep it human and grounded.

The experience is very like live theater. I think audiences will want to applaud, and stand around in the lobby talking about their favorite parts. There will be fan theories.

Wait, what does that last line mean?

9 out of 10 shots of whiskey in a cut glass tumbler