CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Countless paths exist or are used to find one’s way out of grief, which is a personal feeling. Bibi is such a journey on the screen that turns into a treatise on madness, coping, and the evil malaise that lurks within when tragedy strikes.
Director and Writer Christopher Beatty fashions a series of stylized bleak images of one person, in this case, Vivian Ashwood’s (Elizabeth Paige) trip into addiction, delusion, and daytime nightmares. With impeccable camera work and almost chiaroscuro, nighttime lighting gives the film a stylized look into the labyrinth of a diseased mind. Vivian’s face is in profile in cracked mirrors. Bibi (Judith Ann DiMinni), who lives in the home, goes through the hollow motions of life. Vivian and Bibi move stylistically in almost a dance movement floating in the air and the space of the home.
“…horror also manifests itself in the presence of a black-clad large male intruder…”
Vivian has lost a child and is under treatment from Doctor and Family friend Dr Grayson (Rick Zahn). Medically she is given a mixture of pills to allow her to control her feelings, calm her and stop the nightmares. Those nightmares are of a child in a stable and memories that surface. The personal horror also manifests itself in the presence of a black-clad large male intruder, either seen on the property at a distance or in the home.
Vivian and Bibi go through the routines of life yet never savor what it can offer. They both go to a pool to sunbathe and sit like automatons. The dialogue is stilted, and the movements are bird-like in head turns. The only thing that seems to snap Vivian out of her melancholia is a visit to an old friend named Tammy (Nancy Blanchard). Tammy is a childhood friend who loves her drink, life, and younger men. She urges Vivian to join her at a local club gathering for the Hot lead singer of a band, only to be rebuffed. Nancy is everything Vivian isn’t, and the two seem to be on a collision course.
