‘The Coffee Table’ Movie Review [Fantastic Fest 2023]: Home Furniture Turns Deadly
Photo from Fantastic Fest
From Jeff Nelson
The art of the dark comedy has the potential power to find the humor in otherwise taboo subject matter. Writer/director Caye Casas’ The Coffee Table dives into a deeply disturbing place that repeatedly pushes against the unspoken moral boundaries that many moviegoing audiences have.
Jesús (David Pareja) and his wife, Maria (Estefanía de los Santos) are at a difficult time of their relationship. They aren’t able to agree on much of anything, including the timing of their newborn son’s birth. They’re further driven apart when they decide to buy a new coffee table – Jesús loves it, while Maria despises it. After he decides to make the purchase, it quickly changes their entire lives.
The Coffee Table opens on Jesús and Maria in a furniture store, speaking with a sleazy salesman (Eduardo Antuña), who wants to sell the couple on a cheap and tacky table with two golden, nude women acting as the legs. The couple’s bickering and Maria’s rejections of the salesman’s tactics are playful and amusing exchanges, simultaneously contributing to our own curiosities as to the power the table will continue to exert over their relationship.
Power is a significant theme throughout The Coffee Table, constantly playing a role in Jesús and Maria’s marriage, particularly when it comes to making smaller decisions, such as home decor. However, it’s also a common thread in Jesús’ relationships with others surrounding him, including his young, obsessive neighbor (Gala Flores) and his visiting brother (Josep Riera).
Jesús insists on buying the table, which Maria continues to ridicule him for. However, the film’s exploration of motherhood and love are surprisingly tender. Maria’s conversations surrounding the joys and pains that come with a child shows another side to the character, as well as the strained relationship with Jesús. These moments are when the film is at its most earnest.
Casas finds the humor both in the light and the dark early on, but there’s a distinct tonal shift that fully embraces the drama and the horror of the situation the couple find themselves in. There are occasional puns that terrorize both the protagonists and the viewer, but the wittier humor in the beginning is lost, with the exception of an uncomfortable chuckle or two.
The simple plot in The Coffee Table runs out of steam before it reaches the finish line, padding itself with sub-plots that interrupt the film’s tension and go unfulfilled. The misunderstanding between Jesús and his young neighbor doesn’t really go anywhere, as this side story is a dead horse that the film insists on continuing to beat.
The Coffee Table is an unsettling descent into absolute madness and misery, although it’s unable to expand its one-note premise into a feature-length narrative. However, Casas has a tight, unnerving short film buried in there. The performances are convincing, particularly from de los Santos, and there isn’t a dull minute in its runtime. Dark comedies don’t get bleaker than this one, but there does need to be more dimension to it.
Rating: 2.5/5
The Coffee Table played at Fantastic Fest 2023 on September 22nd, 2023.
