Fantastic Fest Review: Aloys

Swiss writer-director Tobias Nölle’s debut feature Aloys weaves in and out of subterranean levels of loneliness in looking for a human connection. This psychological drama puts a private investigator, played with great effect by Georg Friedrich (Wild), behind the magnifying glass he’s rigorously fought to stay in front of.

Aloys Adorn’s father has passed away, leaving him alone and isolated. Nölle’s placement of the solitary character in the coldest environs, and Friedrich’s portrayal in almost obsessive-compulsive paranoia of relation, underscores the loneliness motif. Rejecting all potential sources of connection, seclusion is Aloys’ refuge. He doesn't just arrive at home, he literally slams doors and blinds shut, disgusted and oppressed by the world at large. Nölle’s use of cameras and peepholes amplifies Aloys’ consuming quest for control of shelter.

Of course, his job the openly available irony, he’s in the middle of investigating an affair that’s led to a pregnancy. Caught slipping and exposed for the first time, he’s seen by the adulterer and his expectant other, then has the camera and tapes stolen from him, while in a drunken stupor. The thief, a beautiful and angular woman named Vera – played by a future star in Tilde von Overbeck – leads him down an uncomfortable road. Use of cellular phone serves a connection point, but is also something of a black-box mechanism.

The film ventures into a fantastical realm, conjoining the two interminably troubled lonely hearts together in an unhealthy relationship of unreality. The film blooms during a raucous – but completely imaginary – party, where Aloys finally experiences connection, if only in codependent imagination.

Tiring of the charade, Vera bows out of this grand illusion, forcing Aloys to make choices: his imagination, or learning to cope with the reality he’s run away from. The film’s script untangles somewhat, into a Charlie Kaufman-like snarl of disorientation. Any portion of reality has become a nuisance, seeping through the cracks of Aloy’s delusion.

As a first go, Aloys showcases Nölle’s superior technical abilities, but the script stammers to an end that only a director who also wrote the film could create. Never indulgent, there’s just an impression that having a co-writer to smooth out the second half’s rough ride would’ve provided the film a softer landing.

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Aloys screens again Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2:30pm.

Fantastic Fest 2016 runs Sept. 22-29 at the Alamo South Lamar. Tickets and info at www.fantasticfest.com, and follow our ongoing coverage at austinchronicle.com/fantastic-fest.