Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s The Intimacy Coordinator is an intriguing, at times uncomfortable, and ultimately magnetic short film that explores power dynamics in a really interesting and effective way. It’s perfectly acted and shot in a way that makes you feel like you’re both part of the story and an impartial observer who is able to see things the people in this tale cannot.
That’s a rare feat, and it makes this one of my favorite shorts I’ve ever watched. Make no mistake, The Intimacy Coordinator is a little dark and messy, but it’s also ultimately very human in its exploration of addiction and loneliness. How do we fill the emptiness inside us when our job is all about choreographing intimacy? This is what Kate is trying to navigate, badly.
Perhaps that is the point. Kate in this film becomes a cautionary tale of a woman who seems to have it all under control, and who projects one thing professionally, but whose personal struggles with, yes, intimacy, become the thing that threatens to derail her job. Connolly-Burnham has already proven in her previous work that she understands the complexities of female characters, and this short once again cements how good she is at creating characters that feel real, not because they’re perfect representations of womanhood, but because they’re not.
Sometimes women-centered storytelling can fall into the trap of perfection. There aren’t enough women-centric stories, and it often feels like, when creating art with women at the center, there’s a desire to focus on role models and heroes. That’s all fine and good, but women can be messy and imperfect, chaotic and cruel, and exploring all facets takes us closer to real equality.
Art cannot be everything for everyone, and it shouldn’t need to be. And the type of art that understands it’s not meant to represent anyone universally can truly hope to convey something… anything.
The Intimacy Coordinator is pure psychological tension, and it’s also a realistic look at someone’s darker impulses. Connolly-Burnham proves herself as a writer with a tremendous script and as a director with the right framing and focus at every point, but she excels as an actor too, a trifecta that is very, very hard to pull off. If I was left with a profound appreciation for Kate as a character, it’s because Connolly-Burnham made her the kind of woman I could understand, even when I wasn’t rooting for her.
Kieron Moore gets less to do here than in most of his other roles (I will forever mourn what we could have had with Vampire Academy), but he’s a good foil to Connolly-Burnham’s Kate, and their easy chemistry helps sell the story, all the way to its shocking end.
I’ve watched my fair share of shorts, and even the ones I’ve enjoyed can sometimes be the kind of thing you watch and then put out of your mind. Enjoyable, but fleeting. That often feels like the curse of a short film. The Intimacy Coordinator, however, understands that the best stories are the ones that don’t stay skin-deep, but that dare to explore the layers beneath, good or bad.
And those kinds of stories, they stay with you. And not just that, they keep you asking for more.
The Intimacy Coordinator screened at the HollyShorts Film Festival.
