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The Mark and Jay Duplass productionRoom 104is the closest thing HBO has right now toBlack Mirror.
Some episodes ofRoom 104 all of which take place in the same generic hotel room are scary.
Some are seriocomic relationship studies.
Nearly all of them are trippy as hell.
Which, ahem, is not always true aboutBlack Mirror.
Oh, and also: Its a musical.
The answer: Its really weird!
Unlike some episodes ofRoom 104, theres no major twist or foray into surrealism.
Its just two fine actors, delivering slow-burn performances that transform into something explosive.
Perhaps because Wilsons involved, you know somethings off-center about Jim from the get-go.
But unless youre clairvoyant, youll never predict whats been troubling Jim all these years.
The concept is intriguing, and its the mostBlack Mirror-ish of the bunch.
Which almost makes it feel a tad derivative.
It just takes a little too long to get to its central point.
Woman in the Wall doesnt fall into that category.
the episode, which jumps through three moments in time, never quite settles into a groove.
Its jarring ending also feels out of tonal step with everything that came before.
Karen finds out anyway, then shows up at the hotel.
But then, they start arguing over whether they both really want to have a baby.
Honestly, this was the onlyRoom 104episode of the season that made me want to hit the fast-forward button.
Indie short films like these always have the potential to become too self-indulgent.
Given its focus on two very self-indulgent people, it weighs in too high on the navel-gazing scale.
