The Coffee Table
As they listen to a salesman’s (Eduardo Antuña) ridiculous claims that the tacky glass table held by two nude gold figures he is trying to sell them will ensure their happiness and is unbreakable, it is clear that new parents Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos) have some resentments in their marriage they need to work out. Jesús will pay dearly for his spiteful purchase of “The Coffee Table.”
Laura's Review: B+
Spanish cowriter (with production designer Cristina Borobia)/director/editor Caye Casas may telegraph exactly what tragedy is about to befall Jesús, which, thankfully, is heard and not seen, but that is not what drives his film’s unbearable tension. With his protagonist clearly in a state of shock, we witness the man carrying the worst burden of guilt imaginable while he continues to delay the inevitable as more and more witnesses arrive for what will be a horrific reveal. To say more about the story would be a disservice.
The film, known as “La mesita del comedor” in its home country, is largely a one location shoot, that initial furniture store scene and Maria’s solo errand to a grocery story excepted, and cinematographer Alberto Morago’s (HBO's '30 Coins') contribution to the tension cannot be overstated. He shoots down the five story stair tower as we watch Jesús struggling to get his purchase around its corners and frames characters down long hallways or through obscuring cracks in doors, a device Polanski used to great effect in “Rosemary’s Baby.” At one point, as Maria gloats and cackles over her husband’s meek admission, he suggests a witch in the way he catches her partial profile. When the arrival of Jesús’s brother and his girlfriend raises the stakes, luncheon becomes surreal with close-ups of food entering ravenous mouths.
Also integral is Esther Méndez’s music, a xylophone accompanying a twangy guitar at one point, drums used to suggest racing hearts in others. There is even artistry in the title credits, which arrive nestled within the table’s Ikea-like instruction manual. The screenplay sports increasingly squirm inducing dialogue and Casas, who should also be credited, I assume, for the design of that hideously tacky table, achieves solid performances from his ensemble, Pareja exceptional depicting soul sucking guilt to the point of nervous breakdown. De los Santos inhabits extremes while Josep Maria Riera and Claudia Riera provide stability as Carlos and Cristina. The film also stars Cristina Dilla as a flirtatious neighbor and Gala Flores as her delusional 13 year-old daughter who keeps threatening to tell Maria that Jesús tried to kiss her in the elevator, another sword hanging over his head.
“The Coffee Table” is a movie Rod Serling would have loved.
Robin's Review: B+
Maria (Esterfania de los Santos) and Jesus (David Pareja) have a not so smooth marriage but they have a baby anyway. They shop for a new table for their living room and he chooses a hideous one which she rejects outright. He buys it despite her objection because the salesman promised “it will change your life,” and it does in, “The Coffee Table.”
As I watched this sad story unfold, I felt a strong sense of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” This is not an awful thing as the story of an unfortunate purchase slowly plays out following a terrible accident. I will leave what happens for you to find out.
What I will say about “The Coffee Table” is that it, early on, creates a high stress level for Jesus and, us, the viewer. This is the kind of movie that couples good imaginative writing, decent acting and solid storytelling by director and co-writer Caye Casas (with Christina Borobia).
In this family household, Maria wears the pants. She planned their wedding, named the baby and decorated their apartment to her taste. Jesus has meekly gone along with her demands until presented, by the eager salesman who promises the table would bring great happiness and the glass top unbreakable – despite it being hideous. She walks out and he makes the purchase.
The action that is the center of the story takes place off screen and the result is kept hidden with just dribs and drabs of hints. As we wait for the horror to play out – and we know, from Jesus’s behavior, that it will be a horror – the tension, at least for me, steadily ramps up and Jesus’s stress (and my own) is palpable.
You think you know what is going on here but that does not stop me from having sweaty palms as the story plays out. This is the kind of movie that I want to talk about in detail but not here. The filmmaker draws you in with the initial “What the heck is going on?!” but keeps you wondering (even though you know, in your heart).
It always amazes me how a filmmaker can create, on a miniscule budget, a gripping and concise “mystery” that builds its tension from the very start. A decision, by Maria, to go shopping for dinner, as innocent as it is, triggers the event that gets our attention from beginning to end. You know what is going to happen and it makes a knot in the gut as you watch.
Cinephobia Releasing puts "The Coffee Table" in select theaters on 4/19/24, expanding in subsequent weeks. It will be available on VOD on 5/17/24.
