Presented at Cannes Critics' Week in 2019, Vivarium is a work of psychological science fiction that borrows as much from The Twilight Zone as it does from Kafkaesque nightmares. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, the film follows Gemma and Tom, a couple in search of their first home, who find themselves trapped in a perfect but dead-end housing estate.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland) and Imogen Poots(Green Room, 28 Weeks Later), the film portrays existential angst amplified by a surreal aesthetic. The artificial architecture of their suburban prison reflects a biting critique of contemporary real-estate dreams and social conformity.
Vivarium is available on Max from March 14, 2025.
Synopsis: Gemma and Tom are in love and want a home of their own to start a family. Then a real estate agent offers them the house of their dreams, located in a new subdivision. The couple follow the salesman by car to the site. There, they discover an unattractive house similar to all its neighbors. But just as they're about to leave, the agent disappears. In the middle of all these identical streets, they can't find their way back. Exhausted after hours on the road, they resign themselves to staying in "their" new house. The nightmare has only just begun.
With its strange, oppressive atmosphere, Vivarium will appeal to viewers with a taste for psychological thrillers and dystopian tales. The influence of directors such as David Lynch(Lost Highway), Todd Haynes(Safe) and Roy Andersson(A Pigeon Perched on a Branch Philosophizes on Existence) is palpable in the film's clinical, dehumanized universe.
Those who enjoyed Get Out, Black Mirror or Cube will find the same blend of social criticism and dramatic tension, where reality is distorted to the point of absurdity. On the other hand, those looking for a linear, explanatory narrative may be put off by the film's allegorical, abstract dimension.
For several years now, director Lorcan Finnegan has been interested in the excesses of capitalism and modern isolation. Vivarium continues the themes of his short films such as Foxes, which explored the abandonment of ghost housing estates in Ireland after the economic crisis of 2008.
The film's aesthetic is inspired by Magritte(L'Empire des lumières), with its frozen artificial skies, and by the fantasy cinema of the 1970s, notably Nicolas Roeg's Les Sorcières, in which a little girl is trapped in a painting.
The shoot represented a real technical challenge, with a set built entirely in a studio in Belgium. To accentuate the surreal, suffocating aspect, only three houses and a small piece of road were built, the rest being digitally extended in post-production.
The film uses strong symbols, notably the mint-green color of the houses, chosen to evoke a latent toxicity. Jesse Eisenberg had to adapt to unconventional shooting tricks, such as simulating a pit by sitting in a shallow hole to give the illusion of an abyss.
With its oppressive aesthetic, acerbic social critique and harrowing plot, Vivarium is a fascinating, thought-provoking cinematic experience. In a style reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror and Cube, the film offers a modern nightmare where the real estate dream turns into a dystopia. A work that leaves no one indifferent, perfect for fans of psychological thrillers and conceptual science fiction.
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