“A Comfortable Bed,” directed by Kyle Graham

San Diego Short Film Festival

Genre: Drama

Total Run Time 16:34

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There is a critically important event almost exactly halfway through this film that I refuse to spoil, so please bear that in mind if any of this comes off as a little cryptic. Even with that warning, I’d almost prefer that you go see it first and then come back and read this.

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Amir (Jamaas Britton) is suffering from depression and his wife Angela (Jemeshia Norman) tries a variety of ways to snap him out of it. There’s teasing, pleading, joking, seriousness, an appeal to be strong for their child who will be home soon – a lot of emotional weight in a very short period of time.

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For anyone who has either dealt personally with depression or has been intimate with someone with depression, this film is going to dredge up a lot of familiar and mixed feelings. People who haven’t experienced this may be surprised to find out that depressed people laugh and joke – but it’s a reflex for the depressed person.

 

It doesn’t fill a need, which is one of the reasons why a person in that situation has so much trouble escaping the depression. The actions that have granted succor throughout a person’s lifetime suddenly don’t do anything, and that realization can lead to a spiral of unhealthy actions or a lack of any actions in an attempt to find relief.

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The bed in “A Comfortable Bed” is not conformable. That’s a lie. It’s a lie that is heartbreaking and devastating even before the halfway mark of this film and it’s an even bigger lie afterward.

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This is an impressive piece of work. The single set is used from multiple angles and conveys Amir’s and Angela’s shrunken world without becoming stale. Graham and DOP Gregory Smith play with color, shadow and motion blur to give us a sense of Amir’s state of mind. Britton’s performance is a standout, imbuing Amir’s deeply human reactions to his situation with a cultural flair – you get a sense that being depressed is bad, but being Black and depressed may be a little worse.

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If anything in the production lags, it’s the audio. I had to turn up my speakers way too high to hear the dialogue near the beginning. And the synth soundtrack, with its panning stereo effects, feels out of place here. But despite those issues, I can’t recommend this film highly enough.