Movie Review: The Man in the Wall

The Man in the Wall opens on an extremely unsettling note. Evgeny Ruman’s psychological drama starts during a rainy Shabbat in Tel Aviv, when a woman named Shir (Tamar Alkin) wakes from a late nap to discover that her husband Rami (Gilad Kahana) is missing. He is supposed to be out walking their dog, but after a neighbor returns it from the hallway and she discovers his wallet, keys, and phone around their apartment, she immediately begins to worry something is wrong. His sudden disappearance sets an uncomfortable mystery in motion, which slowly unravels during Ruman’s well-paced movie.Over the course of this night, which is tracked by an onscreen clock that periodically appears, Shir is visited by a number of people while she tries to figure out what happened to Rami. A mutual friend of the couple stops by, along with Rami’s father, Rami’s best friend, and the police. With each new guest, you gain a different perspective on the couple and on their relationship as you try to guess why Rami is gone. You learn that both of them have demons that they grapple with and unsavory aspects to their characters, so Ruman really keeps you wondering about who could be at fault for Rami vanishing.By shooting the entire film inside a single apartment, Ruman gives the proceedings a constant sense of dread and claustrophobia. His handheld camera that stalks Shir is terrifying as well, especially during an early scene where you swear that you can hear the cameraperson’s heavy breathing. The more you find out about Shir though, the more you start to question her story, just like the police who come to her apartment do. They are a bit too in her face and incredulous of her story, although they effectively plant the seeds of doubt over whether she has something to do with Rami’s disappearance.To say much more would ruin the experience of seeing the film for yourself, but suffice it say that there are some tense moments and trippy hallucinations that take place before The Man in the Wall reaches its climax. Unfortunately things don’t reach the explosive finale you might hope for, however they do pleasantly surprise because they don’t take the obvious turns you’re expecting. When you do discover what happened to Rami, it’s fascinating to see how Shir deals with the situation. The way Ruman plays with your expectations throughout the picture and explores the complex themes with solid storytelling techniques makes The Man in the Wall an excellent movie. Based on its strength, I’m curious to see what he does next.

✭✭✭✭

The Man in the Wall is currently available to stream on Netflix.