Her Friend Adam Film Techniques

Ben Petrie’s short film, Her Friend Adam, exemplifies the single moment when a seemingly, and normally distressed relationship ultimately bends so far that it, and all involved – break. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Her Friend Adam magnifies the short period of time it takes for a single couple to lose all hope and trust, while falling apart. Clocking in at roughly 16 minutes, this spiraling disaster captures the comical, fatal, and at times uncomfortable gestures each participant expresses. Written, directed, and starring Ben Petrie, his short film focuses on the demise of a heterosexual relationship, which is swiftly replaced by a non-threatening, platonic connection. Her Friend Adam follows Robert, played by Petrie, as he enters the apartment of his girlfriend Liv, played by Grace Glowicki, and attempts to conditionally proceed in his normal, well-loving relationship. When Liv leaves the room, Robert looks through her phone, only
While she quickly masks her disgust with her love of painting, Liv completely escalades to full-on embarrassment when Robert notes that Adam touches her more than he does. Both the audience and Robert bare witness to Liv’s simulated and sexually vocalized climax, mocking and exaggerating the experience her boyfriend wishes to have. Ben Petrie enhances and deplores just how different two people in the same relationship can feel.
While watching Liv’s loud cringe-worthy scene (I had to turn my volume down), it becomes clear that she is completely and scornfully disrespecting Robert and their relationship, hoping to see its end. Petrie states, “Grace just brought a vulnerability and an emotional realism to that scene that I could not have anticipated,” which ultimately lead her to win Sundance Film Festival’s ‘Special Jury Award for Outstanding