An idyllic suburban life has never been portrayed to more queasy effect than in Marc Forster's Everything Put Together. Angie (Radha Mitchell, High Art) seems to have it all--a loving husband, a close circle of friends, a baby on the way. But when her newborn dies of SIDS, the isolated grief that quickly intervenes presents an alarming portrait of modern-day tribal outcasting as the American dream gets turned inside-out to reveal a cruel undertow. Treated as though she might taint their own families with bad luck, Angie's girlfriends abandon Angie to her grief and increasingly unstable behavior. Forster (Monster's Ball) shuttles artfully between the intimate handheld camera commotion of communal activities--neighborly barbecues, shopping excursions, rap sessions among friends--and the motionless scenes of Angie's unhinged state when alone, to create an atmosphere of suburban suffocation matched only by Todd Haynes's Safe. Everything Put Together was shot entirely on digital video, and its innovative direction and excellent cast subvert the familiarity of the home video to chilling effect. --Fionn Meade
2.
"Everything Put Together" is the story of the American Dream unraveling. It's a chilling tale that examines the choices people make when faced with tragedy. In a quiet suburban community where every driveway has a minivan, every backyard has a swing set and every neighbor feels safe, something no one is prepared for happens.
Angie and Russ are a young married couple at the pinnacle of their dreams and expectations. Their perfect world becomes a nightmare when a day after their baby is born, he dies inexplicably. Rather than rallying to support Angie and Russ, their friends (most of who are pregnant or have small children) block them out of their lives to avoid the discomfort of dealing with the couple's loss. Without her friends and with her marriage disintegrating, Angie is set adrift to deal with her grief alone, sending her on a strange and terrifying journey into madness. Only after a near-fatal collision is Angie able to return her life to some semblance of normalcy and rejoin the social circle.
Movie Database
In Theaters
