A Teenage Boy’s Reaction to John and the Hole – a Sundance 2021 Film Review
John and the Hole is a psychological thriller, centering around a teenage boy who drugs and drops his family into an incomplete fallout shelter (the hole).
The movie has great cinematography, not too dark and gloomy, perfect for the theme. It’s a thriller so the lighting isn’t bright and sunny but it’s not a hard core Texas Chainsaw kind of scary thriller either. In fact, I wouldn’t really call this movie scary at all. It’s more unsettling and intriguing than anything else. It keeps you at the dodge of your seat guessing what will happen. Ironically, there’s also a level of dark comedy, which adds a layer of excitement to the film.
This story was actually originally based on a short story and I feel that it being based on a short story played a role in the development of the unconventional premise. Short stories tend to have really bizarre premises and I think that it can lead to really fun ideas like this movie.
When interviewed about the movie Pascual Sisto, director of John and the Hole, was asked “What makes a 13-year-old John Tick as a person, in your opinion?” Pascual had this to say:
“Well that’s the thing, nothing really makes him tick. That’s a better way of putting it. We see him in what would appear as an average, even privileged adolescent life and while he does things most kids would enjoy doing, he’s not enthusiastic about them. He’s trying to feel things, and realizing he has a pervasive yet undefined apathy growing inside of him. He wants to feel things on his own terms, anything — whether it’s exhilaration or tension or fear. Throwing his family in the hole is his way of dealing with the numbness.”-Pascual Sisto
That really gets to the core of what the movie is about. John isn’t exactly a bad person, just fundamentally different, almost a brokenness inside of him and kind of this lack of understanding when it comes to the world and the people in it. He does outrageous things to fill that void. However in the end, it turns out that his family’s absence only made the void bigger.
As a teenage boy, I could easily identify with John. I remember what I loved most about being away from home during my Summer Discovery programs at Georgetown and UCLA was the feeling of independence. I often feel overwhelmed about things I can’t control and it was nice feeling like I was the one in charge of making all of my own decisions. However, like John learns, we need our families. They ground us and give us a sense of identity. I think the existential question of what’s the stronger drive, seeking connection or craving independence, is a core part of being and figuring that out can be challenging for many of us. When that is compounded by a sense of deep apathy it’s hard to see how one could go to extremes. We may not go to the extremes John went, but figuratively dropping people in holes (including our families) in one way or another is definitely something we all do from time to time.
I really enjoyed this film. I think it’s great for families to watch together, especially families with teenagers. I’d imagine it would lead to some pretty interesting conversations as it did with me and my mom.
