Upon first glance, Jeremy Workman’s Secret Mall Apartment tells a bizarre story about artists who created and lived in an apartment in their local mall. But at its core, the film offers unique insights into gentrification, consumerism, and the impermanence of art.
The documentary revolves around project leader Michael Townsend and seven other artists friends who built an apartment – fully furnished with a couch, a television, and dinner table – tucked in a hidden space in Rhode Island’s Providence Place Mall in the early 2000s. The friends lived there for four years before mall security discovered them and destroyed the apartment. Townsend was the only artist known to be involved until now, with the release of this film.
Secret Mall Apartment is a scrapbook of old and new. Workman pairs old television clips, written entries, and digital camera footage that includes the artists’ hauling furniture up a shaft with present-day interviews. Interestingly, he also builds a replication of the apartment to use for a couple of reenacted scenes that bring the viewer into the space.
Through interviews with the artists, local art and history experts, and others, including Townsend’s family, Workman tells a story that is equal parts funny, emotional, and personal, subverting the audience’s expectations of the subject matter. Those feelings are amplified by Clare and Olivier Manchon’s evocative music composition throughout the film.
In a Q&A session at the end of the screening, Townsend revealed he turned down over 30 directors interested in telling the story of his secret mall apartment. He said he chose Workman because of his films’ relatability; his last film, domino-prodigy documentary Lily Topples the World, won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize in 2021. (Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg also acts as a producer for the documentary.)
Secret Mall Apartment could’ve easily been a comedic documentary about a strange stunt. Instead, its effect is profound, leaving audiences with a newfound understanding of creativity and contemplating the relationship between life and art.
Secret Mall Apartment
Documentary Spotlight, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 8 • 2024.