Feature – USA / International Première

Showing @ Cameo 1, Fri 29 June @ 19.00 & Cineworld 8, Sat 30 Jun @ 13.10

Dan Sallitt / USA / 2012 / 91 min

If one of the functions of art is to challenge and subvert societal norms and taboos, then there are few more prickly subjects to broach than incest. Yet rather than dissuading, this difficult topic appears to have inspired director Dan Sallitt in the creation of his latest film, The Unspeakable Act. The story follows Jackie (Tallie Medel), a high school student who lives with her odd but ‘impossibly close’ family. Yet as if being a teenager wasn’t confusing enough, Jackie also has the added complication of being in love with her brother.

Medel firstly deserves recognition for carrying out the astonishing feat of creating a character more sympathetic than perverse, with a restrained and subtle performance. However, the dialogue between characters is sparse to the point of cavernous which distracts from the realism, often sounding like forced profundity. Much of the story is also Freud by numbers, complete with absent father and vaguely oedipal relationship. This has the result of making Jackie’s pent-up desire the only truly believable aspect of the film. This is, of course, exactly the point – but rather than emphasising the incestuous love as the only real emotion, it highlights the unnaturalness of the dialogue. While it is certainly difficult to approach, it isn’t entirely gratifying. Much like its subject matter.