Tribeca Review: Sleepless Nights in "Restless"

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Not getting enough sleep can really ruin a person’s mood. Inconsiderate neighbors with no concept of how loud they are the subject of another Tribeca entry this year (The French Italian), but those antics take an immediate comedic turn. That’s not at all the case in Restless, an isolating tale of one woman who can’t take it anymore when deafening music blasts into her home at all hours of the night, pushing her to the brink of insanity...

Restless opens on Nicky (Lyndsey Marshal) opening her trunk and preparing to bury something before flashing back to explain how things got to that point. At first Nicky is mildly annoyed by the blaring beats that penetrate her previously tranquil home, but the volume only seems to get louder and more belligerent. A friendly approach proves unproductive since nothing changes, and when Nicky pushes and considers calling the police, she sees a vicious temper that goes with the aggressive music Deano (Aston McAuley) plays that indicates he has no intention whatsoever of being cooperative. 

It's easy to sympathize with Nicky and to imagine being in her situation. She’s met with a variety of unproductive nonsolutions, from law enforcement officers who suggest both that it couldn’t be that bad and that even if it was she really has no recourse to Deano’s gaslighting and mocking, asserting that she’s just being a stick in the mud at best and a calculating snitch at worst. Not having her problems taken seriously only pushes Nicky further to the edge, especially when her attempt to escape the incessant noise results in a ticket for sleeping in her car.

This is the debut feature for writer-director Jed Hart, best known for the Barry Keoghan-starring short film Candy Floss. This film centers so strongly on its protagonist in a way that emulates her shrinking worldview, as if almost no one else exists since she simply doesn’t have the time or energy to occupy her mind with anything other than how she might possibly break free of this constant torture. The film’s title is extremely apt, and that opening tease of a psychotic break or murder spree feels almost justified by the miserable nature of her circumstances.

Marshal, whose past credits include The Hours and Hereafter, captures Nicky’s sense of solitude in this whole thing, unable to find anyone who can understand that she didn’t invite this upon herself. Audiences should hope that they might have someone to turn to in a similar predicament to help them find a way out from it, but this film offers no such simple solutions, instead following Nicky down her dark journey to any method of survival. It’s a desolate experience that still manages to find cleverness and optimism at just the right moment, traveling a creative course to an unexpected and satisfying finish. B+

Restless makes its world premiere in the Viewpoints section at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.