If it’s too good to be true…it probably is. The adage can be applied to many situations in life, and depending on if you’re a glass half full or half empty person, could be a motto used towards the majority of circumstances. The Immaculate Room, written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil, takes a bleak, candid look at greed, desperation, and the fragility of the human spirit when all our comforts are stripped away.

Kate (Kate Bosworth) and Mike (Emile Hirsch) have been selected for an exclusive and unique opportunity to win $5 million by staying together in a stark room for fifty days, stripped away of all outside influences. They’ll have only each other, with no access to phones, television, or internet, in a sterile, all-white room where daily provisions and clothing will be provided. All they have to do is last the entire fifty days in the room without leaving, and the money is theirs. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, of course it isn’t.

There’s a list of rules they have to abide by, as well as opportunities for them to forfeit a portion of the money for a “treat,” should they desire it. An automated voice emitting from an intercom is there to remind them if they step out of line, and also tells them when to sleep and wake up. Naturally, the couple is ecstatic upon their arrival; after all, who wouldn’t want the opportunity to win that much cash after completing a seemingly simple assignment? 

As the clock, and days, tick by, boredom and irritability naturally set in, but it’s the psychological games from those in charge of the game that begin to slowly break away at their relationship and mental stability. Will they be able to last the entire fifty days before completely breaking? And just how sinister will the challenges and mind games being thrown their way become?

The Immaculate Room takes a relatively simple concept and intricately weaves in a case study of what happens when people are pushed to their brink, and beyond, with the promise of a comfortable life. It cuts right to the chase, wasting no time in bothering the audience with details that don’t really matter to the overall story. We don’t need to be bogged down with an examination of these characters’ lives before this situation, because there’s plenty of time for them to tell us through their interactions.

Kate and Mike feel like a believable couple, with real issues and gripes that boil to the surface as weariness and irritability begin to set in. Their differences are heightened as they are forced to find ways to cope. Mike’s affability and flightiness is in direct contrast to Kate’s austere focus, which only works against them as their sanity begins to unravel. This is as much a study on the strength of a relationship as it is in their individual psyches, and it does so in such a gripping manner, it’s impossible to look away. The story finds a way to sink its claws into you and pull you in, where it almost feels as though you’re right there in the room with them.

The pacing of The Immaculate Room is exceptional; lingering long enough on the scenes that need to truly be absorbed, while also pushing forward quickly enough that the audience truly feels the frantic nature of their plight.

Hirsch and Bosworth are both completely engrossing and remarkable in their roles, making you simultaneously feel empathy, frustration, and bewilderment over their constant highs and lows. You can’t help but root for them, both as a couple and as individuals, all while inevitably pondering how you would handle each predicament they find themselves in.

To say any more about The Immaculate Room would be ruining the experience that is to be had while viewing it, as it truly is a thought-provoking and complicated ride. It’ll make you think twice before accepting an offer that seems too great to refuse, and cherish the everyday comforts we all take for granted.

9 out of 10