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Jack (Adam Gibson) works as a security guard at an abandoned prison - a
dead end job in more ways thank one: On one hand it's a job offers no
chances for promotion, on the other it's also a job of very little
importance, and also a job that's anything but stimulating - in fact it's
dead boring. Which is just great for Jack, because he's a man of no
discernible interests and little ambition, so walking through empty
hallways day-in and day-out is just alright for him. Jack takes his job
seriously, too, much to the ridicule of the other guards (Gerard Howells,
Mark Charles Adams) who work the opposite shifts. Eventually, Jack
starts to realize there's someone else in the hospital with him, someone
who's stealing his cookies and drinks his coffee when he's not in his
office, but who other than that is rather good at evading him. Jack wants
to file a report about this, but then chooses not to. Instead he tries to
track down whoever-it-is himself, but sees this more as a game of
cat-and-mouse than anything else, even helping his invisible opponent out
with a sleeping bag and a container of soup when he's not chasing him. Eventually,
the intruder makes himself known to Jack, and it's a woman, Hannah (Hannah
Cork). Hannah's pretty much the opposite of Jack, because despite the fact
that life has dealt her a rotten hand, she hasn't lost her good spirits,
her positive outlook on life. Now at least Jack knows he's supposed to
report her, but he takes an instant liking in Hannah, and even though she
claims she doesn't need his help, he insists on helping her, at least
within his boundaries, buys her stuff, and sees to it that she gets the best
room in the house, the hospital chapel the security guards are routinely
not checking on their rounds (Jack still keeps Hannah a secret of course).
Jack starts caring more and more for Hannah, so much so that he also
spends his days off in the hospital, and in turn, she shows him how to
open up, how to find a perspective in life again. Eventually, their
friendship turns into love ... until Jack learns about a gas leak in the
hospital's basement, and before he can warn Hannah, she's blown to pieces
... Hannah is gone, and Jack's job as a security guard ends eventually,
but he's not ready to let go, and after the end of the assignment he
becomes a squatter himself, camping out at the hospital and reliving past
memories, good and bad, determined to go down with the hospital, which is
to be torn down in a few days time ... Deliberately slow-moving
and atmospheric, this film tells a simple love story full of surprises:
Sure, the film's main premise, "security guard falls in love with
squatter" might not exactly sound original, but the way the film is
told is - none of the film's romance is straight-forward, and from the
beginning on it is closer to a ghost story than any other romance. Add to
this the fact that the film (other than my synopsis) is told in a
non-linear way that contrasts Jack the security guard with Jack the
desperate squatter, and anticipates the disaster in the finale for quite
some time, and you're left with a highly original piece of work. That Adam
Gibson is just great in the lead role doesn't hurt one bit either, of
course. Recommended!
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