Agnes: A Sitcom-Dark Comedy That Begs For A Sequel

Director Michael Romeo Ruocco’s 10:28-minute-long Agnes is many things at once. Funny, thrilling and laced with drama, it brings out the impossibility of absolute states of feeling. We get two friends driving around in the thick of the night plotting their exit after a botched crime–and, if that alone doesn’t summarise the nailbiting ride they are up for, the conversations between them certainly will. Peppered with witty lines, palpable chemistry and the blue-green neo-noir look, with its nighttime setting, the pace of the opening gives the film its necessary gravity.

Yes, there is an unknown victim, accidental no less. But, the conversations between Daisy (Cassidy Layton) and Rory (Emmy Makela)—friends since catholic school only imply at the impending doom, the necessity of the crime and hilarious attempt at exonerating themselves from it. And, despite the humour, the grief it inspires; shot through with tangential motives, personal concerns, and the essential silliness of doing anything with your best friend makes Agnes worth multiple views.

To writer Teresa Nigolian’s credit, the script of the film is near perfect leaving no room for doubt even when most of the characters are simply referred to, with no screen time. Add to that, Lily Cunningham Perini’s edit with the dialogues, what we get is a banter that not only speaks of the history the girls have shared but also their personalities that cancel out one another.

For unexplained reasons, Daisy and Rory, citizens of the world’s firearms capital, make a surprising choice in the weapon for their execution. Perhaps it speaks to the depths of the harm caused, or the shenanigans people dream up in conducive company, but, regardless, the end result is a litany of errors that the duo try to rectify at every step.

Nigolian’s screenplay opens in medias res. The body is already in the trunk of their car. They are flooring it out of the crime scene. Though Ken, the target of their plan never shows up on screen, the ghost of him haunts all three. They try platitudes to soothe the panic and guilt of their mistake. God works in mysterious ways; he’s in a better place. Whatever works. The irony and hollowness escape neither the speaker, nor the addressee, nor the audience.

Other instances are more comedic, less sour. Daisy’s noble gesture in incriminating her octogenarian grandmother, whose backyard becomes the crime scene, only to display the two amateur killers at their worst is surprisingly funny. Daisy, again despite her noble gesture, who does not have the core strength to dig the very grave she insisted has Rory by her side already planning their next murder!

The levity, besides serving the demands of the genre, is essential to the characters’ sanity. Considering the themes the film attempts to explore, it’s presented in an endearingly gutsy, thoughtful way, rendering a sense of normalcy. It is just your regular Tuesday night with a bit more bickering, sneaking around, and improvising than usual. The casting is spot-on. Rory, the more religious, less seemingly fragile one. Daisy, more outwardly feminine, intense, wounded. Layton and Makela time their delivery and rhythm just right for the impression of a longstanding, deep friendship sustained by complementary personalities.

By the end of Agnes, conclusions over the possibility of a better place become a matter of interpretation, subordinate to the scope for improving things in the material present. Of course, juxtaposed with that is also the kind of ridiculous misfortune that sets the best laid plans awry. Much to the amusement of the audience, you do end up wanting to know what the duo would get up to the next time. And, as Latin Drums by Positive_sound beats along, the wait doesn’t feel that long.