WITHOUT: SIFF gem

WITHOUT is the first film from writer/director Mark Jackson and it is a strong debut. The entire movie is shot on Whidbey island, it both opens and closes on the ferry. It is the story of 19 year old Joslyn , who is spending one week caring for an old man while his family travels. Josyln must feed, change and wash this man, who doesn't speak and occasionally moans at night. His home is in the middle of the woods and has no internet connection. This seclusion affects Joslyn, whom, we learn, was struggling with both loss and isolation long before coming to this house.

The first half of WITHOUT is mostly watching Joslyn take care of the old man and do yoga. The second half of the film is watching Joslyn unravel. Jackson introduces several mysteries that imply dark forces are at work. Joslyn seems surprised when she discovers a large bruise on her back. Every night she places her cell phone next to her bed, and every morning it is someplace else in the house. The film is slow paced but builds in creepy tension as Joslyn's isolation makes her desperate for human connection and causes her to act out, sexually and violently, towards the old man.
In WITHOUT the directing, cinematography and acting are all wonderful, and the movie belongs to newcomer Joslyn Jenson, who is in almost every shot and captures the severely repressed young women with a naturalness that carries the film through long scenes of little action.
WITHOUT ends without answering all the questions it raises, which bothered many viewers, but I enjoy open-ended films when done well, as this one is. I have several theories, and I look forward to discussing them with people who have seen WITHOUT. The movie stays with me, haunts me, because without everything answered the story is not over.