I’LL END UP IN JAIL
A Murderous Car Crash, No One To Blame?
I’ll End Up in Jail is a short dramatic movie centered on Maureen, an unhappy housewife trying to escape her misery. She ends up at the scene of a fatal car accident, and somehow the perpetrator, a local named Jelly the Loon, involves her. Canadian Alexander Dostie wrote and directed the 23-minute project. Dostie infuses comedy throughout the darkness of the characters. Jelly the Loon, a town pariah, reveals he and his friend were smoking weed and locking each other in the trunk before the accident. When Maureen tries to take off, Jelly convinces her to help dispose of the body.
While burying the body, Maureen figures out that Jelly has strangled the corpse. Maureen confronts Jelly, and he pulls a knife on her. In a struggle, the two pile atop each other, and Maureen stabs Jelly. The conclusion of the film follows the protagonist as she evades the authorities and ditches Jelly’s body. Her escape alludes to the theme of freedom, which Maureen introduces earlier in the film, as she abandons her life. Alexandre Dostie paints a picture of horror laced with humor, and Maureen’s interaction with men and the male barrier’s actions represent female liberation. Before she leaves home, Maureen also chastizes her gay son for his behavior.
Dostie’s substantial body of work hinges on the idea of feminine empowerment in his films. Maureen, played by Martine Francke, is spot-on as a repressed mother who transforms herself as she moves toward freedom. Émile Schneider also does a great job as Jelly and his evolution into a killer. PROVOKR loves this 2019 multi-award-winning film, and we bet that you will, too.
