This is a Short Film about Psychological Violence that I directed couples years ago, Vimeo Staff Picks... Comments are welcome !
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Fred et Marie is heart-breaking domestic drama about a young, attractive, Belgian couple who have an alarming problem—Fred is a boor and a bully, and while not physically abusive, his psychological manipulations and putdowns are devastating to watch.
Taking place over the course of a day leading up to a dinner party celebrating the couple’s 5-year anniversary, we see Fred as alternately sweet and disgusting. Putdowns are casual, and his controlling ways absolute—like when he forces Marie to uninvite her good friend from the evening’s get together. Crucially though, the film shows Fred’s charisma, the yin to the yang of abusive relationships, and an element that often gets forgotten in cinematic portrayals.
Fred has an intensity to him. He’ll look at Marie lovingly, with undivided attention, and bring her close, only to close the exchange with something dismissive and insulting. He builds her up, only to tear her down, and the little rush of excitement she receives from pleasing her man and feeling loved, only becomes more valuable to her the longer she spends beaten down and discouraged.