BT1886

What Happened Was...

Written, directed, and edited by Tom Noonan, What Happened Was… is an unexpectedly brilliant debut from the Tooth Fairy himself. For all its small-scale simplicity, the film dives into some pretty existential territory, exploring fears of loneliness, the search for meaning, and the lies we tell ourselves and others. The bulk of its short runtime is painfully awkward, following two co-workers attempting to connect but never quite landing on the same wavelength. Yet, I found it strangely endearing, as their efforts to bridge the gap feel genuine. Noonan does so much with so little here, playing with power dynamics, societal expectations, and the unspoken tension that fills the air. A lot of the film’s success comes down to the subtle, brilliant performances from both Tom Noonan and Karen Sillas. Their interactions are jam-packed with nuance, and the smallest gestures—Michael’s dismissive phrasing or Jackie’s darting glances of discomfort—speak volumes. Yes, What Happened Was… is essentially just two people talking for an hour and a half, but Noonan manages to craft such a delicate and layered dance between them that I found it impossible not to be drawn in. • Collab Film Club — Ranked (https://boxd.it/ggvO4) • Watched in 2024 — Ranked (https://boxd.it/rMle4)

nathansnook

What Happened Was...

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” In the end, we can talk and talk and know, still, so little about each other and so little about all the people we will get to know. Stage to film adaptations are most enjoyable when the camera moves with the players. Beautiful blocking with the camera’s hyper-anxious eye on hand movements, touches. “𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦…𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱.” Tension in touch. In the words too. But the fun in this is seeing what the characters choose to reveal to each other. It’s not so direct, a dance, circles, and lands in an end full of feels you wonder if two people from unlikely bounds do share a specialness in common, and if it’s worth it at all. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸?” How much of your heart is worth offering to the other? How much of it counts? Does the task of tallying even matter? Does it affect the cost or burden of carrying a heavy heart? “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?”