Israeli editor Asaf Korman’s feature-film debut “Next to
Her” (aka ‘At Li Layla’, 2014) seems like a touching portrait of a woman’s
self-sacrifice. The Twenty seven year old
Chelli (Liron Ben-Shlush), a security guard at a school, lives with her 24 year
old sister Gabby (Dana Igvy), who suffers from intellectual disability. Chelli
feeds, baths, and keeps Gabby out of harm’s way. Since the sisters’ mother has
largely abandoned them, Chelli becomes an overly protective mother for Gabby. They
live in a gloomy one bed-room apartment. Chelli sleeps next to Gabby on a
couch, in the living room. They both share toothbrushes and an aversion for
outside influences. Local social worker often plants herself at the door,
questioning Chelli about her decision to lock her sister inside the apartment
while going to work. Just as we see Chelli fiercely shielding Gabby, on a
physical level, it works like a shining exploration of motherhood (with all the
self-sacrifice themes). But, “Next to Her” is much more complex tale since it contemplates on the emotional level of the caregiver, Chelli. Films dealing
with intellectually disabled characters often weave it as a heart-breaking tale
of one-sided dependency. However, Asaf Korman’s film studies the asphyxiating
co-dependency as Chelli requires her younger sister’s disability to lead a
functioning life. In the end, “Next to Her” is more a humanist drama on
unhealthy co-dependency than a film about taking care of the mentally
challenged person.
The film opens with teenagers rattling at locked metal gate.
Chelli, the school security guard, lets them out and the shot of her standing
beside the bars conveys the trap she has placed upon herself. When afflicted
with tension or fear Gabby head-butts the hard tile-floor of the apartment.
Whenever Chelli locks her sister inside, she does these head-butts. Despite
Gabby’s unpredictable nature, Chelli decides to not place her outside their house,
fearing that others would meddle in their affairs. Owing to pressure from
social worker, Chelli does send Gabby to a day-care and pick her up after work.
The little independence and the friendships Gabby enjoys in the day-care
actually makes Chelli little uneasy, despite the weight being taken off her
shoulder. As the narrative progresses, writer Liron Ben-Shlush (yes the actress
who plays Chelli) examines the nature of damaging symbiotic relationships on
the whole; not just confined to the relationship between the sisters. A
possibility for effective change happens when Chelli meets the 34 year substitute PE teacher Zohar (Yaakov Daniel Zada).
Zohar stays in a ramshackle flat of his mother. When he has
a whirlwind romance with Chelli he immediately decides to move in with her,
despite knowing about the situations in there. Chelli loves Zohar so as to
desire a carefree life. And, Zohar not only puts up with Gabby’s presence, he
earnestly tries to develop a friendship with her. He wants to give Gabby her
independence. If Gabby wants to pleasure herself, let’s give the girl some
privacy says Zohar. Discomfort sets in when it’s perceived that Chelli leads a
life by exerting a control over Gabby’s life. Zohar is breaking at this austere
reality she has set off. He doesn’t want Chelli to make love with him in the
room and then go off to sleep entwined with Gabby on the couch. He wants Gabby
to have her own space and just observe how she takes in that space. The
dangerous suspicion Chelli develops on Zohar is based upon this
well-intentioned advice of Zohar.
 |
| Liron Ben-Shlush as Chelli & Dana Ivgy as Gabby |
“Next to Her” is a tale of suspicion, insecurity, and
jealousy. But thanks to the subtlety we don’t deride at any of the characters.
They all have good intentions, which of course don’t lead to good results. When
Zohar takes Chelli to his mother’s house and conveys the news about moving in
with Chelli, we could get a hint of the overprotective nature. The lines
between love and fierce co-dependence increasingly blurs in the narrative
trajectory. In the popular opinion, caregivers are only portrayed as endlessly
compassionate people. But, here the caregiver's own anger and emotional wants
are brilliantly addressed. Writer Liron Ben-Shlush has added vivid details and
difficulties involved in taking care of intellectually disabled persons, based
on her own experience with her sister. In an interview she explains, “It’s a very personal film, but it’s not my life – I didn’t
want to write about the woman I am, but the woman I could have turned into.”
The script has originated from the conflicting emotions of love and anger while
living alongside a mentally challenged family member. A scene featuring a
playful bathing activity lingers uneasily when Chelli’s thinks for a
moment to commit an unspeakable act. She is also courageous enough in tackling
a taboo subject in cinema – ‘sexuality of the intellectually disabled’. The
final revelation does feel a little heavy-handed, although it delivers the
necessary emotional punch.
 |
| Chelli meets Zohar in his ramshackle apartment |
From a visual standpoint, director Asaf Korman (married to
Liron Ben-Shlush) and cinematographer Amit Yasur propagates few interesting
shots. Korman often keeps Gabby, out-of-focus in the background to comment on
absence of an every-day life experience for the mentally challenged. The sickly
yellow palette is employed to express the increasingly murky relationships
between the three characters. There’s distance, detached shots mainly in the
outdoor sequences to showcase much they (the sisters) are marginalized from
others. Most importantly the visuals don’t stick out in an unnaturalistic or
fussy manner. Finally, if everything looks impeccable and convincing on the
screen, it is due to the robust central performance from Dana Ivgy and
Ben-Shlush. Dana, friend of Korman and daughter of Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy, researched the part by working long hours at the hostel
where Ben-Shlush real life sister lives. Viewers unfamiliar with Ivgy’s previous
brilliant performance in the movies “Or”, “Jaffa”, “Zero Motivation”, etc would
question if she is an actress playing a part. Ben-Shlush is effective in
conveying the caring and exasperating emotions of Chelli. The most important
part of the performances, apart from the talented portrayal of their respective
characters, was the depiction of intimacy between the sisters. Ben-Shlush and
Dana creates firm intimacy that’s necessary for the precise emotions the film
invokes on us.
“Next To Her” (90 minutes) is an
unsettling but gripping human drama about the harmful, self-perpetuated
dependencies we create for ourselves. The unflinching eye for details and the
strong performances renders an unforgettable movie experience.
About Author -
Arun Kumar is an ardent cinephile, who finds solace by exploring and learning from the unique works of the cinematic art. He believes in the shared-dream experience of cinema and tries to share those thoughts in the best possible way. He blogs at Passion for Movies and 'Creofire'.
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
Next to Her (2014) Trailer (YouTube)
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