UNSAID | Omeleto

A man and woman meet. Poppy arrives at a remote cabin and settles in for the night, building a fire and getting ready. At the stroke of midnight, she's joined by a man, Kareem, whom she knows well. They embrace, having not seen one another in a long time. They catch up with one another, though their dynamic is awkward at first. Poppy wants to discuss something important, but they also want to simply spend time together as they used to. As time passes through the night back into day, they dance around what has changed, what they feel for one another still. But when they finally talk about why they separated, Directed and written by Harris Alvi, this subtle, resonant short drama sees two former lovers reuniting in a cabin in the woods. Poppy and Kareem have not seen one another in a long time, but there is a well-worn, comfortable intimacy in their interactions. But as the narrative unfurls, it reveals not just their unique situation in the present, but more of their tragic backstory -- as well as the toll such tragedies have on loved ones left behind. The storytelling is hushed and unhurried, prizing emotional intimacy over melodrama and developed through careful, restrained writing and beautifully understated performances. As a two-hander confined to one night in one location, its relatively tight narrative scope allows us to traverse a lot of emotional and psychological ground over a short period of time, beginning with Poppy's nervous anticipation as she arrives at a cabin. Shot with an overall softly moody, shadowy naturalism, we could at first believe this is just another weekend or meeting. But certain cues -- the clock striking midnight and the subtleties of the sound design, for instance -- clue us into an atmosphere where things are not quite what they seem. That mystery is slowly built, along with the deeper emotional mystery between Poppy and Kareem, answering and raising questions often within the same conversation. Just as we piece together who and what they are to one another, we also wonder why they parted. Actors Ella McCallum and Azan Ahmed do wonderful work balancing the subtle tones and undercurrents of their relationship, from their warm intimacy to the hidden hurts and resentments. While it's easy for them to encase themselves in the "spell" of the cabin's remoteness from the real world, eventually that pain comes out, as does the difficult truth of their story. It brings UNSAID to its aching, poignant ending, which reckons with the emotional aftermath of suicide, its unique grief and the shattering of loved ones left behind. There's an aspect of the fairy tale to the narrative in that it feels like it takes place in a cloistered time and space apart from reality. But ultimately it's grounded in difficult, unvarnished emotional truth and compassion, giving Poppy perhaps a sense of closure in having her anger and sorrow heard. It's a closure that many in real life may not achieve, but here, it gives her and us a space for expression and then a sense of having made peace. UNSAID. Courtesy of Harris Alvi at https://harrisalvi.co.