Sathya Sridharan and Anastasia Olowin in Ben and Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts, screening at the St. Louis International Film Festival 2024
The list of films at SLIFF every year can be a little overwhelming, but when I started perusing this year’s offerings, there was one film that jumped out at me immediately: Ben and Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts. No, not just because of the quirky name, or because it’s conveniently located toward the beginning of the alphabet (though those things certainly helped!), but because I immediately recognized actor Sathya Sridharan. Sridharan is a native St. Louisan and WashU grad (and you know how we love to cover St. Louisans around these parts!) who starred in Minor Premise, the very first SLIFF entry I ever reviewed for this site, a taut sci-fi thriller where Sridharan wowed me as a scientist who splinters his mind into ten different fragments of his personality. Even though Ben and Suzanne was clearly a different sort of movie from the jump, I was still excited to see this former local in another role. And, I’m happy to say, I was not disappointed.
This time out, Sridharan plays Ben, an Indian American who boards a plane to Sri Lanka to visit his longtime girlfriend, Suzanne (Anastasia Olowin). Suzanne moved to Sri Lanka to do some charitable work—her stay was supposed to be short but she keeps extending it, much to Ben’s chagrin, so he decided to come to her instead. Ben arrives in Sri Lanka happy to see Suzanne, and, let’s be frank, more than a little horny. Her? Not so much on either account, but as they spend more time together over Christmas and New Years, she starts to warm back up in fits and starts—until, that is, her boss makes her work during her vacation. Suzanne’s work is for a company that issues microloans to help poor Sri Lankans start their own businesses, a beneficial service that assuages her white guilt nicely; unfortunately, she’s just been switched over to the unpleasant side of the equation and is now stuck working as basically a glorified debt collector. The real world constantly intruding on their fun vacation really puts a damper on Ben and Suzanne’s ability to reconnect, though it’s certainly not for lack of trying.
Ben and Suzanne is a first time feature for writer/director Shaun Seneviratne, marking it as the first film by a Sri Lankan director to premiere in the United States (at South by Southwest earlier this year). It’s also the debut feature for lead actress Olowin, cinematographer Molly Scotti, editor Joe Violette, and more members of the crew, though you’d never know it from looking at the finished product. Shot on location in Sri Lanka featuring mostly non-actors outside of the main duo, the movie has an impressive scope for such an intimately constructed project.
Prior to Ben and Suzanne, Seneviratne directed Sridharan and Olowin as the same two characters in a trio of short films. The familiarity pays off, as both actors truly embody their characters and make it look effortless. Sridharan’s Ben is a little sarcastic in a way that’s mostly endearing but dances dangerously close to the line between endearing and obnoxious; he’s sometimes sweet, sometimes selfish, and truly pathetic when he’s desperate to get some, but all in ways where you can see what Suzanne sees in him. Olowin’s Suzanne is determined, good-natured, loving, but often exasperated, both at Ben and at the job that’s turning out to be not all it’s cracked up to be. As Ben and Suzanne try to rekindle the romance, they’re never quite on the same wavelength—Ben making a move when Suzanne isn’t in the mood, Suzanne making a warm gesture while Ben’s still hurting from an earlier rejection and responds with a cutting remark. It’s an honest and heartfelt depiction of a long-term relationship between two people who seem perfectly suited for each other yet also destined to drive each other crazy. And wherever Ben and Suzanne end up, it’s fun to watch them try to get there. | Jason Green
Ben & Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts will screen at B&B Theatres Creve Coeur West Olive 10 (12657 Olive Blvd.) on Saturday, November 9 at 4:00 pm as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival 2024. Single film tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid current photo IDs. Further information is available here.
