Jeri Jacquin

Coming from director Lawrence Michael Levine and Momentum Pictures is a story of what is on film and what is life with BLACK BEAR.

Allison (Aubrey Plaza) is a young film writer that is visiting the Adirondacks to find some inspiration. She meets the couple Blair (Sarah Gadon) and Gabe (Christopher Abbott) who welcome her into their home. Blair is expecting and Gabe is happy to have someone else to chat with. Over dinner the conversation gets intense as Allison realizes she has upset Blair.

Trying to calm down a hysterical Blair, Gabe is frustrated himself. Allison goes to the pier down the path to give the couple some time. When she returns, she and Gabe take a moment to get personal and it all falls apart.

But there is something else going on here, is it Allison who is the one that is hysterical in all of this? The twists begin to show themselves and, in the meantime, there is the sound of nature right outside their door.

Plaza as Allison is very vocal about what she believes but also uses her dry sense of humor that is mistaken by Blair as something more. Trying to avoid the couple’s problems, she finds herself part of the problem. But as the story changes, we see that Allison is able to become just as unglued as Blair.

Gadon as Blair is a pregnant woman who doesn’t have the patience for the nonsense she feels is happening around her. All she wants is to feel safe and loved by Gabe but cannot seem to believe what she is told. On the other hand, as her story changes, we learn how far someone will go when insecurities kick in.

Abbott as Gabe is stuck in the middle of these two women. Trying to keep Blaire calm, he also has realizations about how he feels about the coming child. Sharing that with Allison is what brings about a twist.

Other cast include Lindsay Burdge as Maude, Paola Lazaro as Cahya, Jennifer Kim as Nora, Shannon O’Neill as Simon, Grantham Coleman as Baako, Lou Gonzalez as Chris and Alexander Koch as Mike.

Momentum Pictures has released several family films such as HOODWINKED!, THE ADVENTURES OF ROCK AND BULLWINKLE, ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES and one of my favorite films, the charming and delightful IGOR.

I am being intentionally vague in my description of the film because I want the viewers jaw to drop as much as mine did. There are twists, turns, realities and subsequent acceptance of everything that has happened. It is slow in the telling but that is important for the changes that follow. I think the cast did an amazing job and Plaza just blew me away with her range.

Having these three actors be the only cast on the screen for a large segment of the film is brilliant as the explosion of truths lead up to the finale. I love films that do not follow the rules and BLACK BEAR certainly does not.

In the end – do not turn away!

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