Week #9: Premise & "Without"

   "Since all men are mortal and Socrates is a man, Socrates is mortal." Quite a logical argument you might say, valid and true, but just as vague as any other statement. In the film, "Without" I believe that the premise might also be as vague, yet just as simple, as the statement above.  "Without" relies on this vague minimalism to create the distinct environment in which the main character has to live in. Our main character is simply trying to live her life and do her job; however, she is haunted by grief and utter loneliness which seems to grow exponentially throughout the film. At the root of her grief lies an extreme sense of confusion, mental imbalance, and vulnerability which manifest themselves as sexual exhibitionism on a broken webcam or to the catatonic patient that she is taking care of. 
   With that said, I believe that the premise of this film, in light of Egri, would be that "Loneliness & Grief, if left to itself, can lead to the destruction of oneself". Our main character is "without" so many things in her life, but most of all, it is love that she truly cannot live without. Every shot in the film seems to be up close and personal, illustrating in detail the activities of our main character's life. With every little activity, we as the audience, observe her breakdown take form. The problem with her environment is that she literally has nothing to sidetrack , or even delude herself from thinking about the death of her partner. Her soft-spoken attitude and overall shyness reveal an ironically overly sexual deviance which I think is also a symptom of the traumatic experience.
   As it goes, the premise of "Without" is very similar to that of "Juno and the Paycock" where "Shiftlessness leads to ruin". In "Without" although our main character has moved from her original environment, I feel that mentally and emotionally she has not shifted or changed.  Because she hasn't changed in this sense, her acceptance of all things begin to go a little haywire..the TV makes her angry and confused..she believes her patient is a con artist..she leads her neighbor on; even though, she is obviously not into that sort of person. True catharsis is nowhere to be found and eventually this leads her to ruin. Her breakdown at the end of the film proves that she hasn't accepted the death of her partner at all, and it translates in everything that she does.  
  She cannot live happily "Without" her love. Although it seems that she has so much, is able to work, and even able to exercise every morning, she has become a danger to herself and those around her. The vague nature of why and where the film comes from and takes place is crucial to how our main character forms. She, herself, is quite vague and unpredictable, and for this reason, our premise becomes even more versatile in the context of the this suspenseful film.