Sundance 2021 Review: John and the Hole – “visually stark and restrained bit of suspense filmmaking”

John and the Hole is a natural fit in the current arthouse genre-film landscape. However, it still manages to cement a unique voice for itself and proves to be more than just a copy of other similarly cold and distant suspense dramas, even if at a glance you feel like you may have seen this movie before. 

When 13 year old John (Charlie Shotwell) goes looking for his lost drone in the woods near his family’s home, he finds an unfinished bunker deep amongst the trees. With not as much as a provocation, he drugs and traps his father (Michael C. Hall), mother (Jennifer Ehle), and sister (Taissa Farmiga) in the hole in the woods. With no one to bother him, John is free to live the life of an adult alone in his family’s house, while they struggle to survive the elements and stave off starvation. 

On paper, I shouldn’t dig this movie. It’s shot in 4:3, which is an entirely too trendy and over-used aspect ratio as of late. I wouldn’t hesitate to call the visual aesthetic “familiar” in general. It’s ambiguous, rather plotless, structure can be found in many of the more boring new arthouse releases, and it’s title lends me to think it will either be far too silly or far too self-serious. 

However, I am walking away from John and the Hole pleasantly surprised. I would go as far as to say I dug this movie. It’s an effective and unsettling piece of drama, with a pretty stellar central performance from Charlie Shotwell. I will say quickly that if you expect a psycho child horror film or what have you, I would imagine you will be very disappointed. It’s a drama with some unnerving imagery from time to time. And it works. 

I suppose I should address the 4:3 issue. I think that very few modern films in this aspect ratio know how to properly compose a boxy frame. There are some exceptions to this, The Lighthouse and First Reformed have been able to handle this much more successfully. Most of the time it comes off like the people behind the lens are struggling with something they aren’t familiar with. With John and the Hole, we find an exception to the normally underwhelming use of this aesthetic. The frame moves and shifts and is staged in a lovely manner. The movie’s tonal and visual influences are rather obvious at times. There’s a few shots that look and feel right out of a Yorgos Lanthomos movie. But, that being said, it eventually settles into its own groove and acts more as an extension of its influences rather than a wholesale knockoff. 

This film is very meandering. Once John puts his family in the hole, not much happens in the way of plot. John is just kinda hanging out and doing his thing, and by thing, I mean playing video games, eating junk food, and acting like a real creep. This really works. All of John’s youthful freedom is engaging to watch, especially as his ultimate freedom is contrasted with his family finding themselves experiencing new levels of misery. It kind of plays into what I feel is the central allegory of the film. 

In many ways, this movie is a representation of class divide. Through John’s seemingly sociopathic, uncaring nature, we find a stand-in for the upper strata of society. While he ineffectually goes from one wasteful activity to the next, his family rots in a squalor of his own making. They don’t portray John as some Hannibal Lector-esque serial killer. He is a cold-hearted, emotionally broken narcissist. In subjecting his family to beg for the smallest of conveniences, he profits by enjoying the benefits of nearly limitless cash and no responsibilities, at least from the perspective of a child. It’s a rather pointed and biting bit of visual contrast and allegory, and it never really overcooks this idea. It presents the comparison, but it’s up to the viewer to make any connections they feel are relevant. There is a wraparound story that I won’t get into for the sake of spoilers that seems to be feeding into this idea. I like it’s inclusion on paper, but it leaves me asking a lot of questions. Unfortunately, they aren’t great ones. It is far too mysterious for its own good and feels like a solid last-minute idea in the writing that needed a few more drafts to become refined. 

John and the Hole is a visually stark and restrained bit of suspense filmmaking. Its eerie tone grabs your attention fairly early on and doesn’t let go until the final cut to black. With some engaging subtextual storytelling and very fine acting, it will keep you wondering what happens next, as well as when someone is finally gonna see through this kid and kick his ass for all this bullshit