I Don't Know Who You Are is a 2023 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and edited by M. H. Murray.[1] Murray's full-length directorial debut, the film stars Mark Clennon as Benjamin, a gay working class musician who is urgently trying to find $1,000 to pay for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)[2] to protect himself from HIV after he is sexually assaulted by a stranger.[1]
| I Don't Know Who You Are | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | M. H. Murray |
| Written by | M. H. Murray Mark Clennon Victoria Long |
| Produced by | M. H. Murray Mark Clennon Martine Brouillet Victoria Long |
| Starring | Mark Clennon |
| Cinematography | Dmitry Lopatin |
| Edited by | M. H. Murray |
| Music by | Spencer Creaghan |
Production company | Black Elephant Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,[3] before being picked up for theatrical distribution in 2024.[4]
Plot
editOver the course of one weekend, a gay working class musician named Benjamin must urgently scrape together $1,000 to pay for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)[2] to protect himself from HIV after he is sexually assaulted by a stranger.[1]
Cast
edit- Mark Clennon as Benjamin
- Anthony Diaz as Malcolm
- Nat Manuel as Ariel
- Deragh Campbell as Agnes
- Victoria Long as Lola
- Kevin A. Courtney as Oscar
- Michael Hogan as The Man
- Grace E. McDonald as Benjamin's mother, Angela
- Radcliffe Goldbourne as Benjamin's father, Marcus
- Randy Davis as Carl from the HIV clinic
- Cheryl Wagner as The Emergency Room Doctor
- Chris Wong as The Pharmacist
- Lawrene Denkers as Melanie
- Peyton McLean as Terrence
- Ilgi Bodan as Cassandra
- Nileigh Bodan as Tabetha
- David Draper as Paul
- Felicia Morrison as Anne
- Erik Berg as The Security Guard
- Denzel Grant as Ed
The health care workers depicted in the film are played by real medical professionals involved in HIV treatment and advocacy.[5]
Production
edit
Benjamin is a reprisal of the same character Clennon previously played in Murray's 2020 short film Ghost.[6] The screenplay is based in part on Murray's own experience having to navigate the health care system to attain PEP treatment after being sexually assaulted.[5]
The film was co-produced by Murray and Clennon, as well as Martine Brouillet and Victoria Long,[7] while Clennon and Long also served as story editors for the screenplay.[8]
In an essay for CBC Arts, Murray described the process of making the film on a limited budget, particularly in having to shoot many of its scenes guerrilla-style without permits.[8]
Distribution
editThe film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] In March 2024, the film screened at the 38th annual BFI Flare in London.[9]
The film was picked up for theatrical distribution in 2024.[4]
Critical response
editI Don’t Know Who You Are has received positive reviews from film critics,[10][11][12][13] with particular praise for Clennon's performance.[14][15][16] The film has attracted comparisons to Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962),[17] Uncut Gems (2019),[18][19] and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020).[20]
Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail ranked the film 7th on his list of the top 10 Canadian films of 2023,[21] describing the film as "a tremendously tense portrait of small-scale desperation" and "a seriously impressive micro-budget debut".[22]
Adam Nayman, writing for the Toronto Star, called the film “deeply affecting” and wrote that "Murray’s movie transforms its furtive production circumstances into a fully realized style. Instead of showing the city off, it cultivates a dizzy dislocation — the paranoid sensation of being surrounded at all times without necessarily feeling connected, or of anxious walks home under flickering street-lights."[23]
Vadim Rizov of Filmmaker Magazine felt that some scenes were “overly attenuated” but concluded that the film is "a solid feature debut" with “a strong sense of a particular micro-milieu."[24]
Angelo Muredda of Cinema Scope described the film as "an empathetic character study that effectively balances its punchy genre elements with its human drama."[25]
Matthew Creith of IN Magazine praised the film and Clennon's performance, writing that "I Don’t Know Who You Are is an urgent tale full of interconnected relationships and rough realities" that "shines brilliantly as it projects impatience, artistry, worthwhile surprises, and the motivations behind propelling one man forward after a tragedy complicates his existence."[26]
Accolades
edit| Year | Association | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Calgary International Film Festival | $10,000 RBC Emerging Artist Award | M. H. Murray | Nominated | [27] |
| 2024 | Riviera International Film Festival | Best Film | Nominated | [28] | |
| Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival | Rising Star Award | Won | [29] |
References
edit- ^ a b c Mullen, Pat (2023-08-03). "TIFF Announces Midnight Madness and Discovery Line-ups". That Shelf. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ a b Spoors, Gavin (2024-03-22). "I Don't Know Who You Are – BFI Flare 2024 (Film Review)". Filmhounds Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b Complex, Valerie (2023-08-03). "TIFF Unveils Cinematic First Looks With Discovery And Midnight Madness Program; World Premieres Include 'Hell Of A Summer,' 'Gonzo Girl,' 'Widow Clicquot,' And 'Boy Kills World'". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (March 6, 2024). "TIFF premiere 'I Don't Know Who You Are' lands US deal (exclusive)". Screen Daily.
- ^ a b ""It can be a struggle to get health care": Filmmaker M. H. Murray on bringing the realities of HIV treatment to TIFF". Toronto Life. 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Hall, Erica (2021-05-12). "Filmmaker M.H. Murray Tackles Modern-Dating Anxieties in 'Ghost'". occhimagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Townsend, Kelly (August 3, 2023). "TIFF adds several Canadian world premieres in Discovery lineup". Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ a b M. H. Murray, "We snuck in without permission to shoot our film's climax — and then everything went black". CBC Arts, September 8, 2023.
- ^ Calnan, Ellie. "BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival unveils full line-up". Screen. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "I Don't Know Who You Are | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ Guzman, Andres (2023-10-30). "Andres' TIFF23 Round-Up". The UnderSCENE. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ Fulton, Claire (2024-02-28). "I Don't Know Who You Are Review: Poignant HIV Drama". Loud And Clear Reviews. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ Arnold, Darren (2024-03-21). "BFI Flare 2024: I Don't Know Who You Are". Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ Levitt, Barry (2023-09-20). "The Best Performances at the Toronto International Film Festival". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Trussow, Tomas (2023-09-22). "TIFF 2023 Report #1". The Lonely Film Critic. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Mark Clennon on I Don't Know Who You Are - Popdust". www.popdust.com. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Chambers, Bill (2023-09-13). "TIFF '23: I Don't Know Who You Are". FILM FREAK CENTRAL. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
I thought a lot about Agnès Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7, of which this film is something of a micro-budget Canadian update, and how after Cléo receives a diagnosis that's serious but not the end of the world, a man tells her he wants to be with her, and she says he's with her right now.
- ^ "I Don't Know Who You Are". TIFF. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
Benjamin's increasingly fraught visits to his friends serve as a tour through the city's unspoken class system, shading in further aspects of his mounting anxiety; there are points in the film when it feels like we're watching a microbudget version of Uncut Gems (TIFF '19), with a frenzied protagonist trying so hard to hide his desperation and panic.
- ^ "'I Don't Know Who You Are' Honours Those Who Fall Through the Cracks │ Exclaim!". 'I Don't Know Who You Are' Honours Those Who Fall Through the Cracks │ Exclaim!. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
The frantic and tense nature of Benjamin's quest creates the edge-of-your-seat anxieties reminiscent of Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems. While the latter revolves around a man trying to cheat the system, I Don't Know Who You Are shows that it's far more difficult to simply exist within it.
- ^ Heeney, Alex (2024-04-24). "Film Review: M. H. Murray's I Don't Know Who You Are". Seventh Row. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
I Don't Know Who You Are, the first feature film from M. H. Murray, does for access to PEP what Never Rarely Sometimes Always did for abortion access.
- ^ "The 10 best Canadian films of 2023, a year of crises and breakthroughs". The Globe and Mail. 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "TIFF 2023: Muted opening weekend puts focus on films instead of celebrities, with mixed results". The Globe and Mail. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Nayman, Adam; Krasovitiski, Michelle. "As TIFF 2023 kicks off, meet five filmmakers fearlessly reshaping the future of Canadian cinema". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Rizov, Vadim (2023-09-09). "TIFF 2023: Evil Does Not Exist, I Don't Know Who You Are | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine | Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Muredda, Angelo (2023-09-05). "TIFF 2023 | I Don't Know Who You Are (M.H. Murray, Canada) — Discovery". Cinema Scope. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Matthew Creith, "Review: ‘I Don’t Know Who You Are’ Sheds An Uncomfortable Light On Sexual Assault In The Queer Era". In Magazine, September 8, 2023.
- ^ "Calgary International Film Festival adds new competition to 2023". LiveWire Calgary. 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Verbaro, Valeria (2024-05-11). "I Don't Know Who You Are, la recensione del film di M.H. Murray". The Hollywood Reporter Roma (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ Sharpe, Josh. "Winners Revealed for Out Film CT's 37th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-08-16.