From Jeremy Kibler

Laughing through tragedy is said to be cathartic. That’s like the experience of watching The Coffee Table, a cruel and twisted fucker of a film. It could be seen as either an asphalt-black comedy, a devastatingly bleak domestic tragedy, or both. Either way, it’s hard to shake, and all because of a tacky coffee table. 

Shrewish wife María (Estefanía de los Santos) and henpecked husband Jesús (David Pareja) seem to hate each other, but now they’re new parents with a newborn son. When the family of three goes out furniture shopping, Jesús succumbs to a sleazy salesman and buys a supposedly unbreakable glass coffee table adorned with two gold statues of nude women. The salesman says it will bring them happiness, but this gaudy piece of furniture does very much the opposite. 

If the film didn’t take its horrifically upsetting inciting incident seriously enough, The Coffee Table might have been reprehensible. At the same time, this isn’t trauma porn, either, because there is something queasily amusing (in the most breathtakingly bleakest way) about how many plates keep spinning. It’s not a side-splitting farce but more of a nerve-wracking endurance test, leaving you with a knot in your stomach. 

Writer-director-editor Caye Casas and co-writer-production-designer Cristina Borobia expertly tighten the screws, ramping up tension until everything comes to a head. This includes raising the stakes with a tense luncheon involving Jesús’ brother (Josep Maria Riera) and his girlfriend (Claudia Riera), as well as the meddling of a delusional 13-year-old neighbor (Gala Flores) who threatens to expose her fabricated affair with Jesús. 

What sustains the film amidst an irreversible scenario that should realistically end sooner than it does are the empathetic performances and sharp writing. María, with her incessant nagging and smoker's cackle, and Jesús, always seeking control, are portrayed with nuance by their respective actors. Both actors find every pathetic, flawed shading and last ounce of love in these people before it’s too late. Director Casas and cinematographer Alberto Morago employ suggestion and subtlety, shrewdly avoiding cheap exploitation in favor of a more restrained approach.

Dark comedies walk a fine line; they must be scathing without being toothless, and biting without being overly mean-spirited. The Coffee Table navigates this territory with aplomb. While it's far from a pleasant viewing experience—and certainly not everyone's cup of tea—it stands as the most daringly feel-bad motion picture of 2024.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Coffee Table is now available on VOD.

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