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Next To Her review: “This is a perfect drama”

Next To Her review: Asaf Korman’s debut is filled with anger, joy, frustration, hatred, and most of all love.

Next To Her review

Next To Her review

Next To Her review by Luke Ryan Baldock. Israel is just one of the many countries currently booming in great talent and excellent films. Such countries are leading the way in innovative new talent, while Hollywood continues to rest on its laurels. Next To Her is the stunning feature length directorial debut of Asaf Korman, a very accomplished editor on films such as Big Bad Wolves. With his wife, Liron Ben-Shlush, taking on the script and the lead role, the pair prove themselves a very formidable duo of immense talent.

Next To Her follows Chelli (Ben-Shlush), a young woman who works at a local school and also cares for her sister Gabby (Dana Ivgy), a 24 year old with severe learning disabilities. The two seem very loving but as the film progresses we are allowed to explore a vast array of emotions and complex situations. If there’s one thing that Ben-Shlush’s screenplay isn’t, it’s shy.It’s very confident in showing you the darker side of each sister as it slowly reveals that perhaps Chelli needs Gabby just as much as Gabby needs her.

Next To Her review

Next To Her review

It may sound simple on the surface, but we soon see Gabby and Chelli both being violent to one another, and then showing each other great love and affection. We feel the frustration of each character but are forwarded down a darker path once Gabby joins a day centre. After Gabby starts to make friends and learn new skills, Chelli begins to show signs of an unhealthy attachment. She lies about Gabby’s abilities and behaviour, and in one scene, turns a fun shared bathtime of dunking Gabby’s head underwater, into a longer and more sinister act.

Once Chelli meets Zohar (Yaakov Zada Daniel) and begins a relationship, we see how Zohar is very good with Gabby, but soon Chelli’s suspicions/jealousy are aroused. Both Daniel and Ben-Shlush give incredible and realistic performances. We never quite know their intentions and the film plays with a number of genre styles to make us more suspicious than perhaps we need to be.

Next To Her review

Next To Her review

The script and performances are a rare perfect fit, where the audience are just as integral in forming character arcs and motivations. Ivgy is also astonishing in her role, displaying certain ticks and learned behaviour, while also keeping a lovable sense of humanity. She may headbutt her mother, but Ivgy makes it clear why Gabby would find this funny. A great sense of passion oozes through from Korman’s direction, but he also restrains himself and never feels the need to force it too far in a singular direction. You’re left with the uncertain tension where the story could go anywhere.

Next To Her is a brave and unforgettable film, and possibly one of the truest depictions of mental disabilities and its effect on loved ones. Without creating true villains or heroes, we are instead left with a true depiction of a very challenging life. This is a perfect drama. Filled with anger, joy, frustration, hatred, and most of all love, it brilliantly captures the conflicting feelings of raising someone with learning disabilities. Stunning performances, exceptional twists on genres, and a strong emotional core make it a must see.

Next To Her review by Luke Ryan Baldock, February 2016.

Next To Her is released in UK cinemas from 11th March.

Luke likes many things, films and penguins being among them. He's loved films since the age of 9, when STARGATE and BATMAN FOREVER changed the landscape of modern cinema as we know it. His love of film extends to all aspects of his life, with trips abroad being planned around film locations and only buying products featured in Will Smith movies. His favourite films include SEVEN SAMURAI, PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, IN BRUGES, LONE STAR, GODZILLA, and a thousand others.

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