Private Property
Writer/producer/director Chadd Harbold's remake of Leslie Stevens' 1960 thriller is a mostly successful endeavor.
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“Private Property” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, May 13) is writer/producer/director Chadd Harbold’s remake of Leslie Stevens’ 1960 thriller of the same title. I’ve never seen Stevens’ original, but seeing Harbold’s film certainly piqued my interest.
Kathryn (Ashley Benson) is a dissatisfied housewife and aspiring actress who’s married to a successful movie producer (“Saturday Night Live” vet Jay Pharoah). Kathryn busies herself by cleaning their mansion and sending out audition tapes because as hubby reminds her, “it’s better to make it on your own accord.”
When their gardener Jorge (Rosemberg Salgado – he was The Priest in “The Crow: Wicked Prayer”!) is let go, Ben (Shiloh Fernandez) introduces himself to Kathryn as his replacement. Ben is eager to do a good job and thankful for the opportunity. He’s honest with Kathryn about his criminal past, opens up to her about his aspirations as a rapper and even takes the time to do script readings with her. Kathryn, starving for attention, takes an immediate liking to her new, attentive gardener.
After a long day’s work, Ben introduces Kathryn to her new neighbor Ed (Logan Miller). Ed’s made his fortune in developing apps. Kathryn kindly offers to make the men a meal. The evening evolves as the trio continues drinking.
I dug an awful lot about “Private Property.” The performances are generally very good. Benson turns her back on her teen image both earned (“Pretty Little Liars”) and inverted (“Spring Breakers”) with this more adult-ish role. Fernandez feels like a performer out of the 1960s, which calls to mind the source material. Miller, an actor I’ve enjoyed as a hero (the “Escape Room” pictures) and heel (“Love, Simon”), brings an unusual energy to the proceedings. Pharoah isn’t given much to do … and none of it is comedic … but he acquits himself admirably. Aces character actor Frank Whaley shows up for a 10 minute spell and does wonders. His brief turn is honestly my favorite stuff in the flick.
Harbold sharply presents the movie in an almost “Rashômon”-style – the events are shown once, shown again and then we conclude chaotically. The opening title cards are cool and Com Truise’s electronic score is even cooler. Themes pertinent to our times (toxic masculinity, female empowerment, illegal immigration) are addressed and deepen the text. The flick’s biggest drawback is that its ending is almost indecipherable – this could be an issue with the film itself or of the screener I was provided – but I had a helluva time making heads or tails out of what was happening. This shit was darker than dark.
I’ll give “Private Property” this – I enjoyed it well enough that I certainly want to check out both the 1960 original and Harbold and Fernandez’s previous collaboration 2016’s “Long Nights Short Mornings.”