In WILDERNESS there's a love story that happens only in the minds of the main characters. Yes, they are involved in a passionate, physical relationship, but they are more in love with the idea of them then who they really are. "Idealization" is the name of the game here. John (James Barnes) and Alice (Katherine Davenport) have been involved with each other in what amounts to moments of a relationship rather than a full relationship. Physical encounters and declarations of love thrown in the air without a second thought. But John and Alice don't really know who they are and what they really mean to each other. To them, it is better to love an illusion rather than breaking the spell by finding out the truth of who John and Alice are.
Their relationship is a bubble, it exists within the boundaries of their proximity and only when they both agree to indulge each other. It's almost an unspoken deal between them, no need to find out what was in the past, who they are back home, only that they are here together in the present. Love is the drug and this is them getting their fix. To bring reality into the equation is to detox from each other and discovering the flaws beneath the surface would certainly break the illusion, the idea of John and Alice.
John Barnes and Katherine Davenport ARE the film, this is a character study and they have to work with two characters that they themselves are playing characters as well. To portray that, people who are playing a part, while also revealing the true person within is a true achievement of performance. Neil Fox could have easily simply point the camera and let the actors do everything, but he also frames the world around them carefully, surrounding them by beauty that further sinks them into the spell of their fictional relationship. It is shot as a sweeping romantic escapade, the world as seen through he eyes of John and Alice, and yet there is no artificiality, reality is there in the corner of the frames, reality is awaiting for both John and Alice to wake up.
Their relationship is a bubble, it exists within the boundaries of their proximity and only when they both agree to indulge each other. It's almost an unspoken deal between them, no need to find out what was in the past, who they are back home, only that they are here together in the present. Love is the drug and this is them getting their fix. To bring reality into the equation is to detox from each other and discovering the flaws beneath the surface would certainly break the illusion, the idea of John and Alice.
John Barnes and Katherine Davenport ARE the film, this is a character study and they have to work with two characters that they themselves are playing characters as well. To portray that, people who are playing a part, while also revealing the true person within is a true achievement of performance. Neil Fox could have easily simply point the camera and let the actors do everything, but he also frames the world around them carefully, surrounding them by beauty that further sinks them into the spell of their fictional relationship. It is shot as a sweeping romantic escapade, the world as seen through he eyes of John and Alice, and yet there is no artificiality, reality is there in the corner of the frames, reality is awaiting for both John and Alice to wake up.
