Written and Directed by Alison Star Locke
Starring Anna Gunn, Linus Roache, Janeane Garofalo
Unrated
Runtime: 91 min
In Theaters, Streaming on Shudder and AMC+ December 16, 2022

by Mathilda Hallstrom, Staff Writer

There’s a storm on Christmas Eve, the lock-yourself-in-the-house-and-never-come-out kind of storm, and Darlene Hagan (Anna Gunn) is on the cusp of giving up. Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, Sally, and twenty years into sobriety, Darlene finds herself struggling to reckon with the shame, blame, and guilt that live in her house.

But when Darlene’s night is interrupted by a knock at the door that is the arrival of her estranged ex-brother-in-law Jack (Linus Roache), she has no choice but to face the past head-on and learn the truth about what happened to Sally. In The Apology, her directorial debut, Alison Star Locke takes an unflinching look at guilt and what it does to the psyche.

The Apology is a chamber piece, rarely stepping away from Darlene’s property, and every nook and cranny in the house is a hotbed of tension. Gunn and Roache are at emotional odds, portraying feelings that fly across the room and explode upon impact. Darlene, racked with worry but still hopeful after her daughter’s twenty-year absence, plays desperate and impassioned. Jack, loaded with a secret too heavy to bear, overcompensates with an armful of gifts and the weapon of nostalgia. Gunn’s performance in particular is not to be missed; she embodies the anxious guilt of a woman doing her best to live in a world growing harder to bear day by day. Janeane Garofalo’s brief appearance as Gretchen, Darlene’s best friend and neighbor, supplements the story beautifully, providing levity when Darlene—and the audience—need it most.

While The Apology seems to struggle in its pacing from time to time, with encounters that often feel drawn-out to render an artificially prolonged runtime, it triumphs in its eventual sense of purpose. Locke doesn’t seem interested in portraying a run-of-the-mill revenge fantasy; instead, the film’s denouement prioritizes the life of Sally herself and what could have become of her. It’s evident that Darlene does everything for her daughter, and that’s all that matters.