Director: Tobias Tobbell

Cast: Daisy Lowe, Eliza Bennett, Alfie Allen

Synopsis: Confine, a taut psychological thriller, stars Daisy Lowe in her first lead role as the troubled former model Pippa, who hasn’t dared leave her London apartment in four years.

Pippa (Daisy Lowe) is a former model turned agoraphobic recluse following a car crash which left her face and body scarred. She wears high heels but needs a cane to hobble around her spacious flat, and her only interaction with the world is via the internet on which she sells paintings. Her life has a lonely order about it, and an early abortive attempt at crossing the threshold of her flat suggests it’s one from which she is unable to break free.

Into this lonely existence comes Kayleigh (Eliza Bennett), hiding from the police following a botched heist. Kayleigh breaks into Pippa’s flat and initially ties her by her neck to the post of her bed. She’s a pretty girl, but from early on we get a clear indication that there’s something not quite right about her. Her perky nature conflicts with a sly propensity for violence and control, something which terrifies the reclusive former model.

While there are some commendable aspects to Tobias Tobbell’s Confine — although shot within the confines of one apartment, it never feels like a filmed stage play, and it never looks like a small budget movie — overall the picture lacks ambition or depth. The character of Kayleigh could have been a compelling one, but it’s difficult to figure out what — if anything — Tobbell, who also wrote the screenplay, was trying to achieve with her character. In the end, Kayleigh just comes across as a malicious presence who doesn’t seem to understand herself. Whether this explains an uncertain performance from Bennett or whether she’s simply not a capable enough actress to carry a film is debatable.

Nevertheless, because of Pippa’s deeply introverted nature it is upon Bennett’s shoulders that the film rests. Kayleigh has a partner in crime called Henry (Alfie Allen), whom she belts over the head and ties to a chair for some vaguely explained reason. A double-cross in the works, I believe, but details are murky. Her behaviour becomes increasingly sociopathic as the film goes on, but there’s never any real sense of menace or overwhelming danger. There are also no revelations at the end of its brief running time — just an incredibly lame twist which still fails to prevent Confine’s finale from being entirely predictable.