Here’s what you might already know about Glorious: it’s set in a toilet. What you might not yet know (or perhaps you do) is that you can explore some pretty profound ideas in this setting. Think microcosm-macrocosm, where big ideas can be played out on the small scale, but tell us a lot about the bigger picture. Wes (Ryan Kwanten) has just undergone a painful break-up: as he hits the road, nodding off at the wheel, then later when he makes a rest stop, taking out his frustrations on a vending machine, it’s clear to see he’s a mess. Another stranger clocks the piled-up belongings in his car and correctly guesses that he might well be sleeping in it. Well, Wes goes one better than that and – when his umpteenth call to his ex Brenda goes unanswered – decides instead to drink an entire bottle of booze and burn everything he’s brought with him.
Minor spoiler: he’s no happier when he awakes (on the asphalt) the next morning, only now he’s hideously hungover too – and has burned his trousers. That kind of hangover. Feeling none too well and still trouserless, he pays a visit to the rest room to ‘call Ralph’ and – it seems he’s not alone in there. Someone in the next cubicle, overhearing his distress, politely asks if he’s okay. Although Wes protests that he’s “not much of a bathroom talker”, they do end up in conversation: the guy next door is friendly enough, even oddly friendly given their circumstances, but things take a turn when he insists on formally introducing himself. And this is just the beginning: he insists that Wes must hear him out: they have something important to discuss.
This is such a smart, savvy film: it’s also surprisingly colourful given its setting, and without losing any of its forward momentum, the script moves from darkly funny to deeply meaningful and back again. It starts with that commonplace human urge to avoid awkwardness and difficult conversations – where better to envision this than in a strange public bathroom? – but it builds on this, showing that this urge has far more serious repercussions, even existential significance.
All of this necessitates a very intense and committed performance from Kwanten, who must remain plausibly contested and nervy throughout; this he does admirably, especially considering he fills most of the shots most of the time, and a large proportion of the dialogue is on him. He spends a lot of time talking himself around; who wouldn’t? There’s also plenty of humour here. It’s maybe too much to see Wes as a kind of everyman, but certainly up to a certain level his confusion and bemusement are recognisable. There are a lot of physical aspects to this role, too – again, perhaps surprisingly, given the limited set – but they all play out well, with Kwanten usually going back and forth between amused and disgusted, until even these defaults will no longer do. As for ‘the voice’, we have veteran actor J. K. Simmons to thank for that. Given that he’s concealed, it’s impressive just how much gravitas he can conjure, playing the opponent just as well as he plays the rather more apologetic messenger.
The film also offers up flashbacks and dream sequences, so although the film remains in its key limited setting, we get lots of context and depth from elsewhere – all of which allows the film to gradually add in its deeper significances, even aspects of its own mythology (the blend between mythology and acumen puts me in mind of the work of directors/writers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson in places). I’m at pains not to genuinely spoiler anything here, but look: Glorious winds up being a diverse, richly-layered and entertaining narrative, whilst it’s impossible to be fully confident on where you think it’s all going. It’s a clever film, testament to director Rebekah McKendry’s love and knowledge of genre, particularly horror, and her confidence in playing around with the different elements. Whether you choose to focus on the weird and wonderful comic-book plot pieces or to see it as a grand, grisly parable about the self, both are valid. Glorious is bold, sharp as a tack, and seriously inventive.
Glorious (2022) played at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2022 and the film will be available on Shudder from 18th August.