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Surreal to reel
A veteran of Blue Man Group navigates a strange, dreamlike world of the subconscious in "Bury the Evidence."
By JOSHUA TANZER
Offoffoff.com
A man (Andrew Elvis Miller) finds himself, with no explanation, in a plain, sparsely furnished house in a plain, sparsely furnished conundrum. He is instructed to do six simple tasks — starting with, clean the water glasses, and ending with, "bury the evidence." The more he works, the less he gets done; the less he works, the more he gets done.
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| BURY THE EVIDENCE |
Written and directed by: J. Greg DeFelice.
Cast: Andrew Elvis Miller, Karen Black, Michael Bolus, Marlene Forte, Dennis Parlato.
Cinematography: Frank De Marco.
Related links:
Official site
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Soon, more nameless people begin to enter and exit his consciousness. A stark-naked woman (Marlene Forte, an Offoffoff favorite for her lead role in "Lena's Dreams") walks past without acknowleging him, and drinks from his only clean glass.
A bearded man, "The Observer" (Michael Bolus), seems to know what's going on in this surreal setup. "Twenty people could come through this door into this room and you would have twenty different experiences. Twenty different viewpoints," he tells the man.
A militaristic personal trainer (Tony Fair), an effete dresser (Anthony Barrile) and a bearded intellectual (William Coelius IV) fight for The Man's attention. Eventually, a mob-style Enforcer (Dennis Parlato) and his minions come to punish him because he has, in some ill-defined, Kafkaesque way, failed in his mission — but perhaps The Man will outwit them or learn to fight back in time.
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What this intriguingly strange and symbolic film is really about, I can only guess. It seems to explore The Man's (or everyman's) subconscious through a series of dreamlike episodes in which events undo themselves, rules change and people provoke his deepest anxieties.
Miller, a veteran of the Blue Man Group (which performs the strange but hilarious show "Tubes" in the Village), is perfect in this Blue Man-like role, mutely navigating this surreal landscape as if trying to figure out even the simplest things for the first time. "Bury the Evidence" is not for those who depend on a clear, comprehensible story line, but it is a strange and wonderful exploration of the human psyche — maybe yours.
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JANUARY 8, 2000
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