No one likes a sore loser, but perhaps sore winners are even worse. As seen in B&B, the big-screen debut from TV writer and director Joe Ahearne, a couple cannot simply accept their victory and move on with their lives. Quite the opposite: here Tom Bateman and Sean Teale’s characters return to the scene of the crime. The crime, of course, being one based on prejudice. However as much as B&B feels of its time, on account of the ripped-from-headlines setup, this twisting thriller from 2017 cooks up a timeless degree of suspense.
Ahearne, who was more inspired by the general social and political landscape than any single event, taps into a hot issue that still comes up today. The denial of service to those from the LGBTQ+ community continues to happen even in areas with anti-discrimination laws in place. So although Marc (Bateman) and Fred (Teale) have won their lawsuit against the owner of the titular B&B in question, there remains what seems like a Sisyphean task. Bigotry will persist well into the main characters’ lifetime. This explains why they, particularly Marc, are always in defense mode and intolerant of any infraction. They know something like this could happen again. That mentality adds to the paranoiac quality of this film and drives it toward a surprising outcome.
B&B is not one to waste its or the audience’s time. A newspaper with an unmissable front-page headline brings viewers up to speed: “Homosexuals sue Christian for double bed.” That then leads into a questionable move on the characters’ part; Marc and Fred, now married, book another stay at the offending inn, St. Jude’s B&B. It has been a year since the incident, and now the plaintiffs have come to rub their triumph in the face of the defendant, Paul McGann’s Bible-thumping character Josh. Admittedly, Fred would have been satisfied with celebrating elsewhere, but Marc is more adamant about having this uncomfortable reunion. That grating and smug behavior of his, as well as Fred’s profound ability for jumping to conclusions, give these characters some edge and the audience more to chew on.
Image: Sean Teale’s character runs into James Tratas’ character in B&B.
The tension is inescapable with the story and interactions primarily taking place inside this isolated inn. And one with no safe spaces to hide in, no less. Ahearne establishes the suffocating atmosphere early on, with the camera’s focus getting tighter and tighter, and these already small rooms becoming increasingly crowded. Viewers are trapped with these characters and their discord. Later on, B&B temporarily leaves the confines of St. Jude’s and heads for a spacious and somber cruising park. The change in scenery, albeit for a short while, allows for a different variety of chills.
Marc & Fred and Josh’s hostilities alone are not substantial enough to support an entire feature, so two more characters are introduced: Josh’s son Paul (Callum Woodhouse) and a guest (James Tratas) who showed up without a reservation. Along with them are additional subplots that give the film its ultimate zigzag characteristic. The introduction of these other characters comes with a brief but welcome amount of distraction from the friction with the host; Marc and Fred learn their presence is only making Paul’s life as a closeted teen harder, and the couple’s incidental competition for best gaydar, as they size up the ambiguous Alexei (Tratas), provides a spot of comic relief. Yet after Fred’s sudden suspicion — which is both irrational and somewhat accurate — leads him to believe Paul is risking his life for a hookup with the inn’s only other guest, he and Marc become embroiled in a not-so-cozy mystery.
That intimate closeup featured so visibly on the film’s poster suggests a different type of thriller. Yet in actuality and with pleasant haste, Ahearne directs us away from the realistic culture clash on deck and swerves into a more general audience-accessible but still rather specific story. One only feasible because of the preexisting agitation between these three men. Even as B&B moves into genre territory though, the battle of beliefs is always on the minds of the couple; amid the bending mystery in store, that thickening air of distrust is affected by Marc and Fred’s constant misgivings of Josh, especially in light of the innkeeper’s unexpected self-interest.
Image: Tom Bateman’s character searches for some kind of understanding with Paul McGann’s character in B&B.
B&B makes good use of Bateman and Teale’s characters, whose differences in personality fuel the film’s second (and better) half. One’s need to always be right and his penchant for snooping reveals significant clues along the way, whereas the other brings hell upon them both by acting heroically. Although a more tangible plot takes over after Fred goes to rescue Josh’s son from what looks to be a potential gay bashing, the writing never abandons developing its characters. Irksome as they may be, they are an interesting lot. All of whom Ahearne shows sympathy for in spite of his personal values. That lack of a black-and-white narrative certainly gives cause for reflection.
The poster’s tagline “They Made Their Bed… Now They Have to Die in It” is squandered here, seeing as the story never takes on any semblance of a conventional suspenser. The film also doesn’t qualify as a standard whodunit; in hindsight, “whydunit” is a muchly preferred description. Nevertheless, if not for its clearly defined and modern timestamp, B&B delivers clever and effective thrills in the vein of classic Hitchcock films.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
Image: The “They Made Their Bed… Now They Have to Die in It” poster for B&B.
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