Written and directed by Casey McAdams, a woman becomes increasingly isolated and starts to unravel as a result. Starring: Chynna Walker, Annie Gill, Marc Lubbers, Kimberly Oswald, Chris Paschall and Jennifer Restak.
Making a feature that revolves around a singular character for its entirety is a pretty risky move, let alone for a directorial debut so Casey McAdams really went all in on Hello in Here. Thankfully, McAdams approaches the film in a very confident, well thought out manner. Something that’s particularly reflected in the way that Kara (Chynna Walker) falls apart as the film progresses, it’s completely organic and done gradually rather than as if you flipped a switch. Giving the audience the time to spot all the signs of her descent from the poised, pro-active woman we first meet.
Choosing to focus so strongly on Kara’s perspective and not show any of the people she speaks to over the phone for most of the film was another interesting choice. It feeds into the isolation, as well as exploring the brave face or rosy exterior people often put on while struggling. On top of dipping into some very familiar experiences, like doom scrolling to dull anxiety and loneliness. Also, the quintessential nonsense experiences we’ve all had with customer services sending you in endless circles. Plus the vague, unhelpful furlough limbos that many were sent into, while getting meaningless bureaucratic answers.
However, when McAdams explores Kara’s emotions in a more metaphorical sense, veering down mental rabbit holes, it doesn’t feel as strong. They can feel like distractions rather than intensifying the atmosphere or unpacking the different layers. They’re somewhat mismatched with the rest of the film, missing a bigger exaggeration or separation to help them stand out. They’re well intentioned, to try and dig into the psyche of Kara but don’t have enough to add.
Similar could be said of Chynna Walker’s performance because she’s at her strongest in quiet moments, those where she portrays the cracks appearing in Kara’s mental health. The subtle signs and changes are much more effective than trying to explore it imaginatively. The grounded nature of her performance is extremely relatable, and she does a wonderful job of emphasising how our society can be cynical. Portraying how we now tend to lean into the negative because the world can often seem like a giant dumpster fire. She deserves a lot of credit for having the entire feature laid upon her shoulders.
Hello in Here can feel slightly long and missing a bit more development to really drive home its emotional arc, especially without other characters to compensate. Nevertheless, these are minor points for what is a strong feature debut. It can struggle slightly with its dream sequences, but its exploration of mental health is hugely sympathetic, relatable and has a great natural flow to it. The directorial style is mostly understated and enhances the feel of isolation which is also portrayed excellently by Chynna Walker.
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