by MATTHEW HAYS

From the frenzied, sparks-are-flying opening-credit sequence of Brenda Keesal's feature directorial debut, Jack & Ella, the artist declares herself very, very clearly indeed: this will not be a run-of-the-mill moviegoing experience - anything but.

In introducing us to her netherworld, we learn only that two rather lost souls, Jack (an African-Canadian, played by Henri Pardo) and Ella (a Jew, portrayed by Amy Sloan) bump into each other while jogging. Moments later, they're moving in together in a tony suburb somewhere. Both are dealing with various bits and pieces of emotional baggage.

Keesal's clearly trying to knock about notions of ethnic, religious and racial identity here. The tribes are all up for their comic knocks, from a proto-Jewish mother type who wanders around the household, often irritating the hell out of everyone she crosses paths with (played a little too well by Naomi Levine), to a long-lost father figure (Ardon Bess) who enters the house as a repairman and ends up locking horns with Jack. Keesal toys with the tribal loyalty here, sometimes to great comic effect; she's self-consciously indulging in stereotypes, as a means of effectively undermining them. Occasionally, though, this can backfire - I was unclear as to where the jokes began and ended at times, with various bits of shtick coming across as funny and others - including Ella being haunted by Nazi gas chambers - as I don't quite know what. (Still, to be fair to Keesal, this is an absurdist fable, not rooted in anything resembling realism.)

Where Jack & Ella suffers, I would argue, is primarily in its marketing campaign. The first thing the trailer does is offer comparisons to both Almodovar and David Lynch. Phew, those are tall orders to live up to. I'd prefer to encounter Keesal on her own terms. This is a daring, audacious, highly ambitious and often sharp little Canadian indie - that should be more than enough to celebrate, without having to draw on unwieldy comparisons to international auteur superstars.

Jack & Ella screens this Thursday and Friday, May 29–30 at 7:30pm at the NFB (1564 St-Denis)

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