In writer/director Charles Davis’ Tender Kisses, psychologist Dr. Barto Helius (Davis) breaks so many rules. He fixates on one of his patients and even shows her lewd pictures of himself, asking her what she thinks. The feature is an absurdist comedy/murder mystery and a look into Helius’ twisted delusions, but it’s also a very tedious 90 minutes that feels like a therapy session from hell, and not in a good way.

Leslie Dame stars alongside Davis as Kerry Chester, a frazzled patient who comes to Helius in the hopes that he can help her. More specifically, she has an overbearing religious zealot mother. Almost immediately after their first on-screen session, Helius becomes obsessed with her. He also has bizarre fantasies in which women absolutely adore him, including his co-worker Dr. Melissa Picanto (Daniela Cervetti), to the point they’re willing to quit their jobs and cater to his every need. In these dream-like states, he also fancies himself a hero, thwarting burglaries and saving the day. Once someone murders Kerry, the shrink plunges into madness in an attempt to find her killer. He obsesses over solving the crime, as the news reports she was stabbed with a pair of scissors. There’s also an aspect of artifice to the film that adds to its reality-bending quality. Even Davis’ voice as Dr. Helius feels over the top and farcical. At one point, his character screams that nothing is real.

The feature makes it difficult to discern what’s reality and what isn’t. Is what’s presented merely a glimpse inside the doctor’s mind, or are the scenes actually occurring? Did a man in a bunny mask actually kill Kerry, or was that another whacked out delusion? I suppose that’s up to the viewer to decide, but this feature certainly goes down some strange and unusual hallways of the psyche.

So much about this one feels like a play, primarily set in a single location of a house. Perhaps it would work better on the stage, as it’s likely this film is going to really test an audience’s patience. There’s only so much time we can spend inside Helius’ mind before it all feels laborious. And while I’m not one to knock a film’s low-budget quality, there are moments where the sound feels off and voices are too distant. This, coupled with some lackluster acting, become all too distracting. That said, the ending at least feels like a well-earned payoff, if people are willing to stick around long enough to arrive at that point.

If experimental, absurdist arthouse movies are your thing, then Tender Kisses may be for you. However, I suspect that all of the psychoanalysis and one man’s delusions will be too much for most. Most likely, Davis’ mindbender will be off-putting to a general audience.

5 out of 10