A Week

A Week follows Rebecca (Neva Leoncini), a waitress working at a diner, as she finds herself grappling with maintaining a peaceful job while also dealing with the consistent interference from her husband (Amir Yassami). Divided into days of a singular week, as the title suggests, Rebecca must confront her inner turmoil and do what it takes to ensure her husband pays for his sins.

One of the most impressive aspects of A Week is how much it accomplishes within its limited runtime, boasting a narrative structure that is rather unique and keeps the pace engaging. While the narrative is intentionally repetitive as the husband repeats absurd acts to interfere with Rebecca's workflow, it never overstays its welcome. The piece doesn't lose sight of how simple the story is at heart, accompanied by frenetic pacing that rarely lets up until the credits roll. The film deals with mature themes such as domestic abuse and emotionally abusive relationships, and provides a helping hand of empathy towards Rebecca and women like her who have been in the same situation. Juan Catalano’s musical score effectively builds nail-biting tension to pervade the atmosphere throughout the bleaker aspects of the narrative.

Unfortunately, the tone feels uneven at times, from a light-hearted tone within the diner to a much sinister vibe whenever the husband is on screen. While jarring tonal shifts are effective, this sadly feels awkwardly executed as it's clearly a serious subject matter with darkly absurd elements. The writer/director Tony Rakshith also makes some bizarre choices within the direction, as many of the formal decisions feel out of place, and the performances rarely elevate how stilted the material feels. There's also incomprehensible ADR that feels awkward, and pieces of audio are completely cut out between pauses of dialogue, which may take the viewer out of the experience. These moments are detrimental to the narrative and the conflict brewing between the three central characters. Thankfully, the narrative is wildly unpredictable as the husband commits different acts whenever he enters the diner, and it keeps the audience on edge throughout the entirety of the runtime. However, certain events that unfold appear confused, as bizarre time jumps occur, which make no sense in the context of what is being depicted on screen.

The DP Albert Baker utilises a plethora of unique choices within the camerawork with close-ups of the actors and low-angle shots of the characters in discomfort, making the experience visceral throughout. Sadly, the performances across the board are robotic and stilted in their delivery. Neva Leoncini, who portrays Rebecca, is clearly trying her hardest to anchor the material with a profound level of nuance; however, Tony Rakshith’s inadequate direction doesn't do her any favours. While the conclusion amounts to just minor, it's ultimately satisfying for Rebecca’s character arc and feels earned in its execution.

A Week is a fascinating attempt at an idiosyncratic narrative structure that rarely overstays its welcome and makes suitable use of its budget restraints and limited runtime. It may suffer from a wide variety of issues within the technical department and artificial performances throughout; however, the piece is consistently engaging and never loses sight of its one-location setting and the mature themes it tackles.