Screening at the New Directors/New Films Festival, 2014: Mar. 29, 9:00 pm EST (Walter Reade Theater); Mar. 30, 4:30 pm EST (MoMA Titus 1).
Ronah (Brooke Bloom) is a sex therapist who has a limited number of clients since she is working on her Masters. She works for a therapist, Dr. Alan Cassidy (Dennis Boutsikaris), who has orchestrated the structure of what is required of those who come for help in matters of sexual intimacy. The clients must sign a confidentiality agreement, have a mouth swab for STDs, and pay in advance. Further, they must agree that their sessions with Ronah are "not for sexual gratification or entertainment."
As a behavioral psychologist, Ronah is very smooth and relaxed in her work as a professional and she feels fulfilled in the knowledge that she is really helping individuals to become more familiar with their bodies, their emotions, and the triggers to their anger or fear. But there is something troubling about a new client, Johnny (Marc Menchaca), an alcoholic doctor who takes care of his invalid sister. She tries to calm him down and move him slowly through basic exercises but he stubbornly refuses to chill out and to cooperate.
Ronah's bafflement over her inability to communicate with Johnny is not her only problem. In case she wants to have a child later in life, she has frozen her eggs. This act is a sign that loneliness is eating away at Ronah's soul. In addition, a leak in her bathroom has turned into a gigantic mess with legal hassles abounding. Her meetings with a teacher and colleague, Irene (Laila Robins), are not as helpful as expected. And, last but not least, Ronah feels quite helpless to do much for her brother Andro (Ryan Homchick) or her mother who is in deteriorating health with growing mental problems.
Anja Marquardt's debut as a feature film writer and director is worthy of applause. She has created a psychological thriller that shows what happens when highly motivated and sensitive souls lose control. Brooke Bloom puts in a masterful performance as Ronah, a woman yearning for love who puts all she has in jeopardy by crossing over the boundaries required in her work as a professional therapist.
