“DEMISE” is the first feature film directed by Yara Estrada Lowe, who is also the author and producer of the film, a love and crime thriller set amongst the many complexities of modern day Los Angeles.
The story revolves around a Latino landscaper, who finds himself in a steamy love triangle with up and coming fashion idol Fiona and his wife Celine, whose character also has his devotion. Constantly, the film focuses combining erotic undertones and brutal drama, which plunges the audience into an exciting world of repressed passions.
The triumph begins with sensual sounds of moaning, slowly turning into a scene with Caleb and Fiona having sex. This vision clearly prepares the viewers for the kind of erotic thriller that is about to unfold. Then we learn that Caleb is already married while Fiona is not exactly his wife.
Caleb is damn well played by Carlo Mendez who understands the dilemma of a man with two wives. As Caleb finds himself in between the promises of love he made to Fiona and Celine whom he is married to, the anticipation begins to build around Celine’s strong determination to get pregnant.
Caleb is ready for children and Celine is even willing to have sex when she is ovulating in order to maximize the chances of their desired outcome. It is clear that such attitudes on both sides will eventually work to break up the couple. Celine’s desire to have a child with Caleb only makes their union even more turbulent in view of how Caleb strays around.
Fiona is superbly portrayed by Crystal Hernandez as a woman who is in love with Caleb and is eager for him to divorce his wife and be with her instead. Celine has at last realized that Caleb has been cheating on her. What makes matters worse is that Fiona is pregnant and expecting what could be Caleb’s first child which leads to their separation. Sofie and Caleb begin to get their relationship back on track and start a new life together but for Celine, it is fanatical quest to return what she believes rightfully belongs to her.
Liz Fenning is remarkable as Celine who gradually evolves from a woman completely consumed by obsession to a character seeking vengeance as her emotions run high. The screenplay cleverly integrates flashbacks so that the viewer can understand where exactly did it all start separating Caleb and Fiona. From a point in time where it seems like romance is in the air, the audience gets fully transformed into a dark thriller the second Celine takes a step towards revenge.
“Demise” focuses on human emotions of obsession and betrayal along with some manipulation which causes readers to undermine the basic desire of justice. Lowes manages to create a scenario in which two opposing sides are two women, which was a bit unfair for the spectators to which of them was supposed to be more sympathetic.
This film narrative offers an opportunity to study the sites of a vengeful woman who is willing to self destruct for the cost of revenge. Themes surrounding obsession, revenge and manipulation is worth exploring how far Celine is prepared to go and that whether Celine in the homage of felt anger and hatred is worth seeking out.
Yara Estrada Lowe makes the viewers emotionally engaged as she’s constantly making them choose between the two female protagonists, each depicting a very different persona in the movie. The direction actually pits women against each other.
Her cast for this movie, is really well planned out. The three lead actresses are well cast and the character of Celine in the movie is convincingly portrayed by Liz Fenning, who promises to snow a spectrum of emotions in each of her scenes. And also to add, Lowe’s screenplay is enthralling as the audience is waiting to see how the movie unfolds and resolves itself to perfection just like a well polished cherry.
The epilepsy can be seen throughout the entire movie and it may be perceived that the film consists of a lot of same feeling and scenes for the viewer, however there are scenes that some viewers may consider open and others, surrounding the witness of Fiona’s murder, don’t feel that way at all. Still, those are deficiencies in their individual assessments which do not particularly decrease the perception in general.
And lastly, being an independent film, Demise knows its own genre very well, respects it and presents the essence and rawness that every thriller brings. In other words, even during the quietest of times in the film, a sense of doubt always looms, which doesn’t allow the audience to relax and prepares them for the tension packed finale.
To summarize, the debut tale of Yara Estrada Lowe examined in “Demise” is well crafted with great players, a compelling plot and it deals with love, betrayal and revenge.
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