Plucked

A period dark comedy feature co-written and co-directed by Katie Vincent and Usher Morgan and starring Vincent, Jared Canfield, J. Anthony Crane and Bryant Carroll.

The year is 1886 and the location is Westchester, New York. At a wealthy house, a high-class dinner party is taking place, however, not all is well, as things between the hosts and owners of the home, Katherine (Vincent) and her surgeon husband, Peter (Canfield) are quite unstable and on the day of the special gathering, she receives a letter stating that her request for divorce has been granted by a court. With this knowledge, she sees no reason to play the happy housewive during the event, leading to very dramatic consequences.

This first half or so works like late 19th century drama, focusing on character introduction, exploring the not-too-good situation between Katherine and Peter and gradually building tension that reaches boiling point half-way through the film, turning the rest into a life-and-death thriller with significant violence and gore. Not implying that the first half is no-good, it is the second half that gives the most quality to this film, thanks to the drama, tension, suspense and fight-for-your-life sequences.

The convincing mise-en-scene effectively creates a late 19th century environemnt, primarily due to the costumes that Vincent also worked and Guiseppe Masi makes a great contribution with the moody cinematography. The feature also gains from the soundtrack, that includes Habanera by Georges Bizet, Borderline Love by Jessy Gerber and Queen of the Night by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Vincent vividly plays a rebellious woman who is unhappy with her marriage and longs to escape it. Canfield deserves a great deal of praise for his portrayal of a mild-mannered physician who goes through a mental breakdown following a disclosure involving betrayal. And Carroll is worthy of recognition as a commissioner who enjoys a drink and is quite fond of women.

With a narrative that takes place over the course of a day, this film tells a story about a crumbling marriage, exploring self-reflection, honesty, infidelity, revenge and frustration. Marriage is a major theme here and the screenplay examines the commitments that each spouse is expected to follow.

A should-had-been-pleasant evening that turns into chaos. The first half might be a bit slow-paced, however, the rest makes up for that significantly.

In Theaters Nov 13th 2026.