And Then There Was Eve

Savannah Bloch's feature film directing debut "And Then There Was Eve" (which she also co-wrote with Colette Freedman) is an intriguing drama that requires us to be circumspect with our review to avoid giving away the plot's major surprise.

This is the story of Alyssa (Tania Nolan), a successful photographer who wakes up one morning to find that her home has been ransacked and her husband is missing. The police show little interest in what they consider is probably the result of a domestic dispute; strangely enough, when Alyssa goes to offer them photos to help them in any search, she finds all the frames empty.

In desperation, Alyssa turns to a friend of the family, Eve (Rachel Crowl), whom she refers to as her husband's work-wife, for help in locating her husband, who she knew had been suffering with depression.

Alyssa seems to lack other people close to her. Even her mother in law rejects her, so she depends on her new relationship with Eve to be able to get on with her life. As the two women grow close, however, this takes on a totally different dimension than Alyssa had ever expected.

Kudos to Bloch for this entertaining psychological thriller, which explores gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality, and which picked up two Awards at the LA Film Festival. The film takes on a whole new aspect on transitioning and is so much better for the fact that it stars the talented transgender actress Rachel Crowl, who makes a pitch-perfect acting debut here.