Ingredients [Video]

By Omeleto

Sam is a young writer in Toronto facing a case of severe writer’s block, who can’t seem to come up with an idea for his fiction. He is also frustrated when he compares his life with his successful, smooth roommate Justin.

But one weekend, Justin goes on a romantic getaway to propose to his girlfriend, allowing his cousin Fred to stay. Fred is another writer, in the midst of a different sort of crisis. But together, the pair connect — and soon find themselves in a situation that blurs the line between fact and fiction.

Directed by Hannah Michielsen from a script by Paul Carere, this cerebral mystery-thriller short is a slow burn, taking its time to build character, atmosphere and intrigue. Through a coolly dispassionate eye, it patiently constructs a deep look at two creative but frustrated souls and then steps back to watch as their chemistry plays out in a slow-motion implosion.

The storytelling is resolutely focused on building Sam’s character. He’s smart and a discerning cinephile, and he’s hungry to make great work and become a success. But through all the pressure he places on himself, he can’t quite get a viable idea on the page. The excellent writing also pays close attention to Sam’s relationships, playing out his scenes with his roommate Justin, who is amiable, easygoing and confident. Justin is also a clear contrast to Sam, and while the pair have the ease of long-time friends, their different trajectories also make Sam feel inadequate.

But the momentum begins to move when Justin’s cousin Fred enters the picture. Fred is a strange presence: dark, sardonic and depressed. But Fred and Sam have an affinity: both are writers, and highly imaginative and intelligent. Their dialogue has a slight stylization, an archness that happens when two people who are too much in their heads find one another — and discover they are on the same wavelength.

Something between them clicks, and they share long, wide-ranging conversations as well as meals. Actors Daniel Maslany and Eileen Li have a palpable connection even through their neuroses, almost like two people trapped in their bubbles finally looking up to discover the other. They can reveal aspects of their selves to one another that they hide in other parts of their lives. For awhile, the film even feels like it could veer into a romantic, albeit left-of-center, direction. But the cool-toned, almost antiseptic visuals and the moody atmosphere indicate there’s more to the film — and Fred — than meets the eye. And as Fred’s deeper character comes to the fore, it also draws something out in Sam.

It’s fitting that Sam talks about the films of Alfred Hitchcock so much in “Ingredients,” because the spirit of the classic master of psychological suspense animates the film, whether it’s in the disciplined, restrained camera or the penetration into the murkiness under people’s facades, where obsession and poisonous resentments teem. As the film heads into its final movement, it veers into a direction that’s truly Hitchcockian, in its masterful suspense and its ice-cold appraisal of people’s inner motives. Finding a compelling story requires digging deep into the self — but what Sam discovers could be harder and darker to face.

Transcript provided by YouTube:

[Music]

how did uh apartment honey go didn’t

do you get any writing done

not really

watch anything good

shadow of a doubt unreal what’s up

earliest hitchcock so good it’ll have

you cheering for the incest it’s a hell

of a tagline

it’s great

honestly you’d probably love it you know

me man anything before jurassic park is

a struggle

you liked alien in high school

yeah cause i was stoned

yeah and if you’d kept that up you’d

still like all these great movies

so uh

what’s the weekend look like weed movies

sleep and light

movies weed sleeping movies

celebrate when i’m back

unless someone calls with a job could

happen

that’d be something eh you get a fiancee

got a new barista job in the same

weekend both equally important

are you jealous bro

yeah but like the good jealousy

when do you leave for niagara about an

hour

and what time are you back on sunday

i’ll be back by noon on sunday

which is weird because my cousin fred is

getting here tomorrow morning

what’s your cousin coming for to uh

crash in my room for the weekend oh and

maybe on the couch for a bit after okay

if it’s all right

well what’s my alternative

your selection of toronto’s finest

hotels cool alternative

i know i’m putting you in an awkward

situation here it’s fine man it’s your

cousin right

you’re bringing someone in from the

street

oh what’s wrong with him

her

and nothing

really she’s just

going through some stuff

she had a bit of a rough time getting in

touch with her birth parents and dropped

out of school doesn’t know how to tell

my aunt and uncle so i just wanted to

give her a place to decompress

okay

look she sprung this on me and i would

take her with me but it would kind of

ruin the ambiance so it’ll be one night

just you guys all right

no you’re not allowed to get engaged

because i’ll be uncomfortable for a

night

thanks man you owe me your firstborn son

though

yeah well

let me get this wedding nail down first

and then we’ll talk

i think this weekend’s gonna be good for

both of us

you might even have a roommate lined up

before heather’s moved in here fred’s a

writer and she is as weird about movies

as you are

great

we’ll be at each other’s throats by

sundown

oh the jays are gonna suck this year

[Music]

hey

sam

yeah i guess justin mentioned me yep

smells great

mac and cheese for tonight

sauce for tomorrow

nice

well

if you need anything just uh let me know

thanks

mind if i watch a movie in the living

room

your living room

yeah i just i don’t wanna

what movie

lifeboat

not that great

good to know

don’t like hitchcock

everyone likes hitchcock just not really

lifeboat well i’m going through all this

stuff in order right now cause i’ve only

seen the hits

always been more of a de palma guy

mom was probably the better technician

hitchcock’s got more heart

you like shadow of a doubt

love shadow of a doubt

hey do you need any help

with what

the food the uh macaroni

do you cook

i mean

my specialty is popeye’s takeout but uh

i’m willing to learn

start chopping that parsley oh right

just

handle first going forward

it’s good yeah but

super film school it’s all male gaze and

cameras the boyer and

so on the gnomes all i’m saying is given

enough time in an apartment you’ll be

jimmy stewart in the cast too

it’s not even the best apartment movie

what is

rosemary’s baby

repulsion’s better than rosemary’s baby

and the apartment is better than either

of those

it’s a rich vein though right

apartment in the city

you’re stranded

but claustrophobic

surrounded by people while totally alone

sounds like you’re working on something

justin told you i write

he mentioned it

i mean yeah i write

i don’t have anything i’m ready to pitch

you or anything you should brainstorm

this apartment idea

yeah for sure i will

what like now

yeah yeah i just don’t want it to be the

type of thing where as soon as someone’s

out on the street it’s revealed the

whole thing was in their head it has to

be concrete exactly and it’s not as

simple as just leaving the house and

feeling better loneliness follows you

around

even amongst people

paranoia follows you around yeah but

loneliness and paranoia can’t be

characters

god no

was this the seventh seal

playing chess with death

i’ve never seen any birdman

yeah me neither

[Music]

i like poisoning but does that even

happen anymore that’s like shakespeare

[ __ ]

i guess it’s mostly spycraft now but if

you want it to be about a murder it fits

in with your whole apartment thing close

proximity

private even though it’s surrounded by

people like you said lunch house and by

proxy type thing now we’re turning it

into whatever happened to baby jane

you can fit in a writer too

get all your neuroses out in one script

guilty

wash up start mixing the meat

all right well fine we’ve got poisoning

we’ve got the apartment we’ve got an

everyday schmo type killer

what’s the dramatic thrust of the story

though

it’s the hardest part yeah

so we put the cart before the horse here

shouldn’t the motivation be what we

start with

i don’t think we’re as far off as you

think

throw in that cup of parmesan crushed

three cloves of garlic and then you can

start mixing it into meatballs okay

what if

instead of a who done it it’s a

who done in

like we know someone’s gonna die but

we’re not sure who

it’s a story about

a guy at the peak of his career

he’s got the job the fiance

the promotions

but it doesn’t sit well with him because

he’s got a jealous roommate

and a deranged cousin

and they’re seething

why does he get this and they don’t

he doesn’t know how to make them happy

for him

he can’t

and everything he earns just hurts more

because it’s driving them away

can’t confide in anyone his two best

friends hate him

his fiance depends on him

his cool

his charm

everyone would hate him if he scared her

off

so he keeps up appearances

make sure that nobody knows

he’s actually alone

eventually every interaction becomes a

performance

and the curtains drop

falls back into his head

long fall into nothingness

no one to talk to

no one would understand

so he stops putting on the performance

you’re right it’s a note

makes a major

settles in

so he just kills himself

that’s just a cover for the roommate and

the cousin

you think anyone would believe that

depends

on how well the roommate sells it

i’m gonna go to the bathroom

[Music]

shhh

[Music]

you’re not supposed to see that what the

[ __ ] is this it’s none of your business

were they in the mac and cheese no of

course not you just told me exactly how

you do it sam that was just a story

honestly just get out what

explain what’s going on or find a

[ __ ] hotel and get out of here fred

you think justin would just let you

throw me out who is he gonna side with

his cousin who’s going through a crisis

or his friend felt weird about her you

all side with the one who isn’t plotting

his murder told you that’s not what

that’s it’s close enough and the fact

that you can’t see it’s creepy as [ __ ]

says a lot about it oh what about you

you’d rather throw me out than listen to

your own scary story it’s your story i

fleshed out your idea you just chickened

out of using your own resources my

resources you said it yourself

loneliness and paranoia following you

around okay then why don’t we write one

from your resources huh

it’s about a psychopath little girl who

creeps her parents out so much they put

her up for adoption

okay

look we both need to settle down now

i didn’t

i just i didn’t i didn’t mean

i’m sorry but you scared the [ __ ] out of

me fred

it’s my fault

i’m really [ __ ] up

i [ __ ] up

i flushed my meds

because i don’t want them anymore

because i want a clear head

and now i’m gonna be alone

finish the meatballs and put them in the

fridge

and then a

staff

she was like

so surprised

hey there he is hey congrats man ah

it’s a real thing now

uh very real too real

how’s it feel

better than you must be feeling how late

did you guys stay up

pretty late i guess

see i knew you guys would get along fred

said you have cooked this up yourself

she’s

being modest uh you are she said you

were her sous chef

meatballs

yeah i guess i can take that much credit

come on i’m i’m starving yeah you don’t

want to replay the night for us

well spoiler alert she said yes oh you

[ __ ] it up that bad eh yeah it went

great

but there’s plenty of time he’s hungry

i’ll do a lecture series over dessert

what have we got for dessert fred

i didn’t plan that far ahead

that’s not like you

well she’s got us this far why don’t we

go out for dessert on me

now let’s dig in

uh hold on to uh let’s cheers

okay

so justin

the best

man i know

and to everything that comes to him

from here on

cheers

good

back

you okay

went down the wrong hole

oh [ __ ] fred

[ __ ] where’s your epipen epipen

did you put any garlic in the food or

she told me to

no no no no no no no

where’s our bag

i don’t know hi

where’s your where’s your rv pen where’s

your rp pump

justin

[Music]

you

—

This post was previously published on YouTube.

***

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