Film Review: Kill the Habit

From left to right: Maria-Elena Laas, Lil Mirojnick, and Katerina Moutsatsos. Photograph courtesy of Bedmates LLC.

USA/Greece/Bulgaria/Italy – Bedmates LLC

Rating: ****

Galia (Lili Mirojnick) finds herself in a pickle after accidentally killing her drug dealer, Lyle (Joe Lia). She calls her best friend Soti (Katerina Moutsatsos) to help her deal with the problem, only to be found by Kyle’s wife, Cardamosa (Maria-Elena Laas), who was asleep at the scene of the crime. But it turns out Cardamosa doesn’t mind at all, and is bent on dumping the body where it can’t be found, as long as she keeps half the stash of money that Kyle has made from his crack pedalling. The unlikely trio embark on a caper to get rid of the evidence quickly, but Galia complicates things with trying to bail her older brother out of jail, and also trying to make it home in time for her baby brother’s circumcision ceremony.

This comedy indie flick certainly delivers plenty of laughs and is definitely one of the low-budget underdogs of this year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Writer and director Laura Neri demonstrates that she has a keen eye for black comedy, and on the whole the plot is well thought-out and original, setting it apart from the obvious and the predictable fare that Hollywood keeps relentlessly churning out.

Neri’s script contains some great zingers, but what makes it shine are her characters. Every one is ornately crafted from Cardamosa’s fiery überbitch demeanour to Soti’s goody-two-shoes and anti-drugs interfering. Even the eclectic gaggle of junkies to which Galia must play dealer in order to conceal Lyle’s murder are more than humorously observed. Aldo Shllaku’s spaghetti Western-inspired score also adds a jolly and slightly absurd shading to the film, especially during the adorably surreal and unexpected cutaways. What really bolsters the movie’s success is that Neri’s direction, along with the firm comedic talent across the cast, nails the timing spot on, meaning the laughs are rarely forced.

The lesbian plot device sits very much in the back seat for most of the narrative; you wouldn’t be chided for wondering whether removing this would diminish the quality of the plot as a whole, especially where there may have been potential to exploit it as a more prevalent mechanic. But such speculation is rather superfluous, because the film works very well the way it is. There are only some small niggles to be had, in that some of the lines feel a little stilted and a tad unnatural, but this is easily forgiven as the overall quality of the writing really carries the film from start to finish.

While it won’t have you rolling on the floor guffawing, Kill the Habit is a charming, engaging, and expertly written comedy, and a surprisingly slick low-budget feature that is a perfect and lighthearted diversion for a rainy afternoon.

See So So Gay‘s full LLGFF coverage here.

The 25th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival takes place between 31 March and 6 April. For more information, visit the official website and follow the BFI’s official Twitter feed @BFI.