My Summer Lair Chapter #246: What Happens When You Drink The Water At Ashgrove?
Welcome to Ashgrove where the water has turned toxic. Humans can still drink it; because they need it to live. But drink too much and they’re in ah…well: hot water. Drink too much water and you’ll perish. That’s the apocalyptic premise of Ashgrove, the sixth feature from director Jeremy Lalonde.
It sounds like a Hollywood Summer blockbuster: the water has turned toxic!
This isn’t Deep Impact (massive comet) or San Andreas (massive earthquake) or The Day After Tomorrow (massive ice age). This is far more local.
With that titillating backdrop of water’s betrayal Ashgrove exposes a couple who are breaking down as our society is breaking down.
The narrow confines of the movie gives it an emotional heft. The performances from the disenchanted couple (Jonas Chernick and Amanda Brugel) are raw; they’re both uncomfortable in the position they find themselves in; like getting the middle seat on a long airplane ride home. (How many couples did not survive the real life pandemic? And how many were elated to discover they have more than they realized?)
Think Signs! One of my favourite M Night movies. Massive alien invasion that focuses solely on a tragic family on their rural farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Why aliens are invading Doylestown, Pennsylvania I dunno but that’s clearly the opposite of Independence Day’s delicious grandeur.
Ashgrove was made in an unconventional way. I could explain it right now but I’ll let Jeremy you know…the dude who made the movie do all the talking. It’s wild how they made this movie; they went into it…with this strange creative method knowing it could fail. This was a strange filmmaking experiment. And wow; it worked.
More? In this My Summer Lair conversation with Jeremy, like the couple in Ashgrove we go through a number of emotions talking about his transition to a plant-based diet. The unusual way that he made Ashgrove and finally sadly working with Bob Saget on what turned out to be his final film (single tear.). Daniel’s Gotta Die is a movie that’s coming out after Ashgrove.
For now: shall we we explore Ashgrove? I heard it’s lovely this time of year…so long as you don’t drink the water.
Jeremy LaLonde @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Tuesday November 29, 2022 at 1:00 pm
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