SXSW Indie Gem ‘Shithouse’ Review

Cooper Raiff wrote, directed, and starred in this indie gem about losing yourself to find yourself. Alex has moved away for college and feels completely isolated in a campus surrounded by people. He is scared of rejection and therefore has a difficult time putting himself out there. He likes to think that he is trying, but deep down he knows he has walled himself off from the world around him. So he decides to give himself one last chance to break out of his shell before he gives up and goes home. He decides to follow his roommate to a party and try to make some friends or maybe meet a girl. While at the party all he finds is shallow relating and endless drinking; as the night winds down he wrestles with the idea of using others and being used. As he returns to his dorm he meets a girl who he feels like he can be himself with. This begins a weekend where he begins to break down his walls and get comfortable being himself around others. This film is incredibly honest, it plays a lot like the mumblecore films of Andrew Bujalski (Funny Haha) and Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs). The film looks deeply into our insecurities in sex, friendship, and identity. It encourages us to allow our ourselves to be honest and to share our real thoughts and feelings with the people around us. The movie even begins to tackle thoughts on death and meaning in this life. I feel like this could be a distant cousin of Richard Linklater’s masterpiece Before Sunset. This is easily one of the best films of 2020 and there are no big name actors in sight, the performances are deeply human and nuanced. Dylan Gelula is particularly good as a vulnerable R.A. who is looking for the most out of life. This film shows the drunken good times and the headshaking hangover, the exciting pursuit of intimacy with the deep fear of hurt. Shithouse is a honest and vulnerable depiction of the American college experience and for that I give it a 9.5/10.