Control

The first task sounds simple. “Move the pencil.”

The pencil sits on a table at the other side of the room. Eileen (Sara Mitich) sits on the chair where she has just regained consciousness after a dream about being with her daughter on a sandy beach. She’s completely disorientated. Looking around, she can see that the room has strangely covered walls, no windows and no door. The voice comes from a speaker in the ceiling. On the wall behind the table is a screen on which small squares are slowly changing colour. She has no memory of how she got here. The pencil is the last thing on her mind.

“If you do not complete the task within the allotted time,” the voice says, in the same light customer service monotone, “your daughter will die.”

What is going on here? It’s obvious that nobody is really going to kill her daughter over a pencil – throwing away their biggest possible bargaining chip in the process – but it’s difficult for a parent to think logically under that kind of pressure, never mind when they’re already feeling frightened and confused. Of course, when she gives in, gets up and moves the pencil, it turns out that this is just the first of a long series of tasks, and the others will be a lot harder.

The difficulty with this kind of set-up lies in finding somewhere to take it which will prevent the audience from becoming as frustrated as the central character but will still maintain a suitably tight grip. There are two ways to do this: by adding further layers of plot structure, or by developing the story at a thematic level. Control is no more successful than average at the former, unable to shift gears and escape its own trap, instead relying on all-too-predictable twists. In the latter department, however, it has more going for it, and facilitates this by introducing a second character. Roger (George Tchortov, who made quite an impression in last year’s Stanleyville) claims to be Eileen’s husband, and her fragments of memory seem to substantiate this, but relations between them are not exactly friendly.

If there’s a purpose to Eileen being in this situation, it seems to involve her being trained to develop latent psychic powers. Director James Mark has clearly recognised, however, that watching somebody exercising such abilities can make for a boring story, especially in the absence of established limits. This story is carefully structured so that it presents puzzles for viewers to solve as well, as Eileen and Roger try to figure out alternative approaches to tasks which seem impossible. Meanwhile they bicker and blame one another, and it’s disturbing to see how easily these exchanges overwhelm them to the point where their daughter is almost forgotten.

There are some smart ideas here which help to keep the film interesting even if they never quite achieve their potential. Mark also handles the pacing well up until the final act, which becomes repetitive for no good reason and relies on trying to impress with sequences we’ve all seen many times before. Control is at its best when keeping it simple and letting Mitich do her thing.

Signature Entertainment presents Control on Digital Platforms from 26th September.