‘Darkest Miriam’: A Library-Set Haunter Worth Checking Out [Fantasia 2024 Review]
Libraries are a special sort of liminal space. Populated by a mix of non-fiction and fantasy, they provide a rare opportunity to be together in shared silence. Not only can you check out books there, you can also check out, escaping the chaos of modern life for a brief spell.
Recently screened at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival, Darkest Miriam gets to the heart of why we still covet physical copies of books, and the places that house them, in this screen-obsessed age. The short, but sweet film is akin to picking up a pleasantly used novel from the Holds section. It is a quietly comforting experience, while also reminding you of the fleeting nature of life.
Adapting Martha Baillie’s novel The Incident Report, writer-director Naomi Jaye welcomes us into the world of Miriam (Britt Lower), a loyal employee at a Toronto Public Library branch. When the typically temperate Miriam finds threatening letters in the stacks, she slowly starts to unravel. Will she succumb to the darkness seemingly closing in on her, or will she find a light at the end of the overstocked shelves?
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Capturing some of the most charming corners of Toronto including the beautiful Allan Gardens, Darkest Miriam is a bittersweet take on what it’s like to be a single, 30-something Canadian woman. Jaye clearly feels strongly about both her star and setting, framing them with the same sort of tenderness Sarah Polley channeled when making the criminally underrated Take This Waltz. And Lower (most recently seen in Severance) is frighteningly relatable as Miriam, her short bursts of cheekiness cutting through the sadness that hangs over the majority of the film.
That being said, one of Darkest Miriam’s biggest strengths is its supporting cast, which includes Sook-Yin Lee (Shortbus) and Jean Yoo (Kim’s Convenience). I wish Jaye gave us a bit more time with them, along with the quirky characters who frequent the branch (see: one “unusually pale patron”). But perhaps that would take this earnest story in an unneeded comedic direction.
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Equally interesting are Miriam’s recollections of her late father, who died by suicide surrounded by his favorite books (paging Dr. Freud). Alas, they are often pushed aside for a half-baked romance between Miriam and a cab driver named Janko (Tom Mercier). While the two spend a fair amount of time in and out of bed, their interactions lack heat. If their scenes were a chapter in the book, I’d probably skip ahead.
Although it has a haunting tone that evokes the earlier work of Osgood Perkins, Darkest Miriam isn’t a scary movie per se. But it certainly leaves an impression, its operatic soundtrack following you around long after the film’s hand-stitched sting. It’s no wonder Charlie Kaufman, director of emotionally evocative films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, wanted to executive produce. Darkest Miriam is a film that will either soothe or upset you.
If you get wistful just thinking about the tattered spine of a beloved paperback, definitely put Darkest Miriam on hold when it comes to a theatre, or a library, near you.
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Darkest Miriam
Summary
Like a tattered paperback on an empty shelf, this frightening relatable Canadian drama will either soothe or upset you.
