DVD Reviews

DVD Review: You are Alone

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 5, 2007, 16:49 GMT

Daphne a Yale bound high school senior with a blurred sense of reality, works as an escort, advertising her services online. All goes well until her next door neighbor catches her as the entertainment at his nephew’s bachelor party. With her hidden life precariously hanging in the balance, Daphne agrees to spend one hour with her neighbor. A candid drama in the vein of "American Beauty" that shows how far ...more

You are Alone is basically a two character study of loneliness and the devastating consequences of a change meeting, complete with fine acting by the two leads. 

Daphne (Jessica Bohl) is a Yale bound high school senior that seemingly has everything going for her.  However, she has a secret life under the moniker of Britney.  Britney is her alter ego who fulfills “school girl” fantasies for her johns.  She has a set of bracelets that she has her johns “snap” off her arm and each color signifies a certain act that she’ll perform on the.  She advertises her wares on the internet and meets them in seedy hotel rooms to fulfill their fantasies. 

She is hired as entertainment for a bachelor party, but one of the men in attendance turns out to be her next door neighbor, Buddy (Richard Brundage).  At first he’s unsure that it’s really Daphne since he knows that she’s Yale bound and can’t imagine that she’d be turning tricks. 

Unfortunately, he follows her on a house call and discovers that his suspicions are correct and Daphne and Britney are the same person.  He agrees to me her in a hotel room, but he doesn’t want sex but wants to talk about his life, wife, and why she got into the business of prostituting herself. 

You are Alone is basically a two person character drama.  It almost seems like a filmed play.  Both characters are flawed deeply in their lives.  Daphne, as you can guess, has deeper emotional issues than her Britney persona lets on.  Tough talking and bold on the outside she’s hurting and disturbed on the inside by her “profession.”  Buddy is her neighbor who is drowning in his loneliness, but has the outward appearance of normalcy. 

Both Jessica Bohl and Richard Brundage make the most of their performances and Bohl won best actress at the Brooklyn International Film Festival.  Much is made on the back of the box about the “twist” ending.  I did figure that one out a bit early in the proceedings but was unsure if it would actually play out the way that I thought it would (it did).  It does feel like a filmed play since most of the proceedings takes place in the seedy hotel room in which Buddy meets Britney/Daphne. 

Whatever the case, the two leads make it worth watching even though it has a low budget feel.  Fine performances all around.

You are Alone is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen.  The screener copy that I was sent did not have any special features so I cannot comment on what the final release may contain.  I’ve read some reports on the internet that there actually are some special features on the disc, but cannot confirm that. 

You are Alone is a low budget affair that rises above its origins because of the performances of the two leads.  They make the picture well worth watching and one hopes to see more performances by Jessica Bohl.  If you’re a fan of independent cinema or two person dramas/stage plays then you can’t go wrong seeing this DVD out.

You are Alone is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.