Written and directed by Alex Mallis and Travis Wood, co-written by Weston Auburn, Simon, a struggling documentary filmmaker, enjoys free flights courtesy of his best friend and roommate, Bruce, who works for an airline. However, when Beatrice, a more successful filmmaker, enters the picture and starts dating Bruce, Simon risks flying too close to the sun. Starring: Tristan Turner, Anthony Oberbeck, Naomi Asa, Joanna Arnow, Brit Fryer, Steven Phillips-Horst and Anil Joseph.
The first thing to probably say with The Travel Companion is that if you are not a fan of the awkward or have an aversion to conflict, this one’s probably not going to be for you. Tristan Turner’s Simon is here to keep niggling away at you, he is a dog with a bone and letting go is not in his vocabulary. The story is intentionally painful, willing you to scream at this man as he continues to make poor decisions and blame anyone but himself. It feels slightly reminiscent of Girls, in having characters with something to offer but who can also be intensely self-centred and blinkered. Although, when a person eats their pizza crust first, it’s always a red flag so the filmmakers do give us fair warning right from the start.
It works but as time goes on and the story doesn’t particularly expand, it’s stuck in that cycle of being cloying, you start to question if it has enough to offer. Beneath the repetitive and clingy nature, there are bigger questions about friendship, insecurity and listlessness or a lack of direction, but they never truly get the time of day. It’s something that particularly stands out in The Travel Companion’s final scene, feeling like it’s trying to round out all of those themes without ever truly exploring them. Although Mallis, Wood and Auburn undeniably do a great job of creating that filmmaker personality, it feels almost parody-like but incredibly realistic.
On the other hand, the direction and aesthetic nicely lean into that NYC summer vibe, it’s modern and pleasing to the eye. It has a certain youthfulness and casual nature to the way that it flows, which is an interesting contrast to the growing tension. It captures that creative nature of its characters. The cinematography is also strong, and the editing nicely matches how Simon can flutter between being chaotic and extremely static.
Something that Turner does well to instil into him, that mix of being constantly moving but never getting very far, just repeating the same cycles over and over. The performance is great, but he is a difficult character to get along with when he’s so intensely picky, insensitive and selfish. Something that makes it all the more fascinating that his roommate is the complete opposite, Anthony Oberbeck’s Bruce is a sweet, patient and down to earth character. The two make for an interesting pair as even in their best moments, they’re never quite perfectly on the same page.
The Travel Companion is shot well and starts off strongly, but it can’t quite expand far enough to sustain itself. It focuses so much on that harping of the same issue, that it feels like it forgets to explore the underlying issues. There’s a great cast at work and plenty of good ingredients in the mix, but it ultimately feels like a frustrating experience when it doesn’t resolve itself in a satisfying, definitive manner after such a finicky watch.
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