By Omeleto
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Andi is riding with her new boyfriend Ben, and they’re out to get pick up some takeout. As they drive, they talk and seem to enjoy one another’s company.
But on a detour to get some ice cream in addition to their Thai food, Ben delivers some news that doesn’t sit well with Andi. She is forced to face the reality of their situation and must either speak up for herself or lose the relationship.
This short relationship drama — directed by Lauren Simpson and written by co-stars Haley Rawson and Taylor Miller, who play Andi and Ben, respectively — is a “snapshot” kind of film, capturing a conversation between two people in a car on one seemingly ordinary night. It begins almost like a typical romance, but as the film progresses, it gives voice to a deeper melancholy and anger underlying its low-key appearances of amiability.
Narrow and focused in its narrative scope, the film possesses a muted, darkly naturalistic visual style that adds to the offhand, casual atmosphere of the film, along with the warm banter between the couple at the story’s beginnings. This relaxed, “chill” look is echoed in Andi’s demeanor, especially since the couple enjoys each other’s company, and actors/co-writers Rawson and Miller have terrific rapport. Ben compliments Andi on being a cool girl, which is something she seems to appreciate.
Yet that persona begins to crack a little, as Ben reveals that their viewpoints on their shared romantic situation are further apart than Andi thought. The dialogue and performance travel this terrain with great perceptiveness, tracing a schism that grows into a chasm as details fall into place. Andi and Ben begin the story aligned and seemingly on the same page — at least, in Andi’s eyes. But then she realizes that appearances are not what they seem, and how she chooses to address that gap is the crux of the film’s drama.
At this point, the craftsmanship also unfurls a more meditative and sophisticated series of strategies to put us in Andi’s subjectivity. Especially smart use of sound and a shift in camerawork capture Andi’s disassociation as Ben begins to “spin” the situation, and she gets distracted by the sight of another couple having a heated, almost violent argument nearby.
The juxtaposition seems to set off an internal revelation for Andi, and forces her to see — and maybe address — her true thoughts to Ben. Rawson here especially captures this troubling moment with precision and thoughtfulness, and she delivers a pointed, powerful statement to Ben — one that may be relatable and perhaps empowering to many.
More subversive than it initially seems, “Drive-Thru” doesn’t let the audience, or Andi, have such an easy release valve. Its ending could be read as a twist on the page, but in the end, it sadly feels all too realistic, especially in a world where stifling our voices to find love, acceptance and belonging can be par for the course. Ultimately, “Drive-Thru” achieves an unsettling resonance, by bringing to life both the twisted games that make up modern dating, and the silencing of needs to fulfill both societal pressures and our longings for love. The price of that silence, though, is in how small and unworthy we feel, and how little we gain for it.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:03
how many u-turns do you think we’re
00:04
going to make you need to get a u-turn
00:08
one two three chocolate cookies
00:11
come on are you serious sorry okay
00:14
here we go you ready yeah one two three
00:17
basketball i’m so bad at this no no it’s
00:20
okay i believe in you okay
00:29
turkey wow dad vibes okay
00:32
it’s just this family joke thing
00:35
oh i’m sorry never mind it’s stupid it’s
00:38
just when i introduce to them
00:40
i’ll have to warn them that you’re what
00:44
and you criticize family traditions
00:48
i’m just kidding you’re like the coolest
00:56
okay so fences or arrival
00:59
uh fences denzel’s my hero
01:03
whoa sorry i i just feel like i’m gonna
01:08
after the thai food you want ice cream
01:12
feel like we definitely need mcflurries
01:15
i haven’t eaten fast food in like
01:18
10 years and she does pilates folks
01:31
oh did you want me to venmo you for the
01:44
so i wanted to tell you something okay
01:48
so between the time that we hooked up in
01:52
and you coming back out here i went on a
01:54
couple of dates with this other girl
01:55
okay and i just wanted to tell you
01:57
because i want to be honest with you you
01:59
i i feel like i haven’t been great at
02:01
that in the past and i just want to be
02:08
yeah i mean we don’t really owe each
02:12
like we never had any sort of discussion
02:19
you can do whatever you want okay i just
02:26
i don’t want you to be mad i i’m having
02:28
so much fun with you i think this is
02:35
i kind of wish i didn’t know that it’s
02:38
tmi but i do appreciate you wanting to
02:57
she’s out of town right now
03:01
okay yeah she’s like home for christmas
03:11
are you saying that if she were in town
03:14
chilling with both of us on like
03:25
wow that that sounds great um but no
03:28
could i just get an oreo mcflurry please
03:33
you sure you don’t want one no that’s it
03:41
look i really like you i just
03:44
i don’t know if i got this job yet so i
03:46
don’t know where i’m gonna be living
03:50
i think you’re so great and
03:53
i really love having sex with you and i
03:55
would love to keep doing that while
03:58
car here is just so weird it’s
04:02
i haven’t dated anybody in so long and
04:05
of course i’m in this weird situation
04:10
oh i don’t know it’s just so weird and i
04:37
you’ve been trying to make new year’s
04:38
eve plans with me for a month
04:41
i know like literally every time we’ve
04:45
you’ve brought that up i know
04:51
so is this other girl going to be back
04:53
in town by new year’s age
04:59
were you just waiting to make like a
05:01
game time decision as to who you were
05:04
really haven’t thought that far oh yeah
05:55
listen why don’t we just go back to my
06:02
eat thai watch a movie under the covers
06:06
we can get you out of these clothes and
06:09
my roommate’s not even home he won’t be
06:13
to have the whole place to ourselves
06:16
like a game time decision as to who you
06:18
were going to spend it with
06:20
i really hadn’t thought that far ahead
06:22
what’s that supposed to mean well i
06:24
figured i’d just i double check with you
06:28
i’m not asking you a real
06:30
question i know what it means
06:40
we’ve been having a good time a great
06:44
actually but now this speech this
06:47
i just want to be honest with you speech
06:50
it’s garbage if you wanted to be honest
06:55
you would have told me about this before
06:58
to come out here you wouldn’t be
07:00
casually mentioning introducing me to
07:02
your family when you clearly have no
07:04
intention of ever having them know my
07:18
everyone’s ten but i’m also not a
07:22
and i thought that you knew that but see
07:25
this with me because what you’re
07:33
i’m unworthy and you want me to play
07:36
nice and go along with that theory
07:37
because maybe that’s worked for you in
07:54
in life you’re stupid you’re wrong
07:58
and you know it that’s why you smoke
08:00
every night and every morning it’s why
08:04
that’s why you can’t be alone it just
08:19
it’s not gonna work this time
08:40
yeah i really don’t want things to be
08:44
you know i feel like they’re gonna be
09:26
it’s not like you had a choice
09:33
it’s not like you would have won
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video
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