Receiving its world premiere at SXSW, Joy Wilkinson makes her feature film debut as writer and director with 7 Keys, having found success in theatre, television, and radio. Immediately, she shows confidence in executing her vision with the opening shots of houses and flats around London, each one tinged with a different colour. Wilkinson has described London as a character in the film and it is accurate with the sense of place crucial to the narrative.
We meet Lena (Emma McDonald) and Daniel (Billy Postlethwaite) at a restaurant, both abandoned by their respective dates, and quickly hit it off. When Lena discovers Daniel has kept the keys for every place he’s lived in, she encourages him to take her on a tour of his past by breaking into each home. Contrived though it may be, it’s a good hook and one Wilkinson executes with style and clear relish.
Wilkinson has mentioned this possibly being the start of a trilogy of Bad Romance films and this marks a promising beginning.
She gleefully takes up the structural challenge she sets herself and avoids the risk of repetition by providing enough variety in the revelations each visit generates. As Lena and Daniel peel back layers of themselves, it soon becomes clear that they have been lying to each other. The sexual tension of their first meeting subsequently shifts to something more threatening, which McDonald and Postlethwaite handle effortlessly with a believable chemistry. The contrast between Lena’s persistent driven nature and Daniel’s contentment to just “passing through” is established skillfully quickly though perhaps unsurprisingly, there is more to them than these first impressions.
The story is solid if at times predictable but Wilkinson’s visual storytelling adds an extra dimension to it. Rather than dropping the set-up as soon as it serves its function, Wilkinson tells a story through Daniel’s different houses, from tiny flats to done-up houses. The significance of going backwards through Daniel’s history means Wilkinson is able to subtly tee up the final act going into full-on thriller mode without you realising.
The stylish editing and grounded depiction of the London streets Lena and Daniel traipse through literally carries us along with them. I already have a fascination with houses in fiction – how a domestic space can be invaded and the geography of a house reflects and affects character’s psychology – so I was predisposed to like this film off the premise alone. But it grips as a good thriller does and plays with your sympathies. Wilkinson has mentioned this possibly being the start of a trilogy of Bad Romance films and this marks a promising beginning.
7 Keys had its World Premiere at SXSW 2024
