COVID has changed our lives, our schools, our offices, and our habits. But January? Luis Prieto‘s “Shattered” is proof that January is the same as it ever was. It’s a twisty tale of secrets, cliches, and Lifetime characters that could only come out this month–it’s impossible to imagine this coming out in December, that’s for sure.
It starts on a surreal, almost laughable note when recently-divorced Chris (Cameron Monaghan) runs into a woman named Sky (Lily Krug), who is looking for a bottle of wine to get hammered. Meet cute? More like meet your worst nightmare. The veneer in her smile is a warning sign you can see from across the room–or across the theater– but Chris doesn’t seem to pay it any mind, and he invites her over. They have sex, talk about money, and have sex again.
How romantic… It isn’t long before he shows up at her place of work, asking for another date. As the film drags on, Chris lets Sky into his life more and more. Unable to connect with his ex-wife (Sasha Luss) and daughter (Ridley Bateman), he throws himself into their relationship despite all the obvious red flags, like her interest in his money, her roommate (Ash Santos) who is crazy, or her landlord (John Malkovich) who spies on them from his lobby.
When they head back to Chris’ one night, a thief attacks him with a crowbar. Now, Chris finds himself stuck at home. He asks Sky to be his nurse, which, as it turns out, is a bit like asking Annie Wilkes to be your maid. Almost immediately, it’s obvious that Sky’s intentions are ominous if a bit vague, as she starts to wander around the house while he’s stuck in a wheelchair, acting less as a nurse, and ultimately, trapping him inside.
Juanmi Azprioz‘s cinematography is sleek and shallow, rendered in icy blues and grays appropriate for the setting. The score of screechy violins, composed by Tom Howe, does the heavy lifting when the script does not, acting as a panic siren of sorts when it comes to Sky. Clues as to Sky’s identity are not threaded throughout, but dumped in a bizarre third act twist. Even the actors seem confused as to what their characters are doing.
Monoghan doesn’t seem to know if he’s supposed to be stoic or panicked, so he does both. His confusion permeates the atmosphere, as Krug delivers a far more nuanced performance. You can’t take your eyes off her, and she’s skilled in her ability to seem sweet and sinister at the same time, like a little girl with a knife behind her back. But the script conceals too much of her character, and it doesn’t offer anything psychologically rich or complex for her to do. All she does is smile and wave, smile and stab.
Indeed, one has to wonder how this flimsy little thriller ever saw the light of day. Perhaps, however, we already know the answer: check your calendar. [D-]