Boreas 1.4 - Separation

Boreas - Separation

Genre: Thriller / Drama

Director: Mark Romanek

Writer: Ann Morrow

Cast: Merritt Wever, Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Lars Mikkelsen, Ben McKenzie, Betsy Brandt, Alistair Petrie and David Denman

Plot: Alice (Merritt Wever) is standing right behind her husband, Spencer (Ben McKenzie) She calls his name and he turns around. They run towards each other and Spencer makes sure that it’s really her. He asks her how did she find him and she says it’s all because of Frank, their neighbour and they kiss passionately. They both say they missed each other and Spencer asks how are the kids. Alice starts crying and she tells him they savages got Jimmy, but Emily is fine. Spencer hugs her even tighter and he says that everything’s going to be alright once he gets back with them. They’ll find Jimmy and they’ll manage on their own. She asks hm what he’s doing here and before he has a chance to answer, Justine (Betsy Brandt) interrupts them, saying people are coming this way. They hide in a room and Alice takes a look and sees Frank (Shea Whigham) being escorted by Chris’s (David Denman) commando. She tells Spencer that they got Frank and asks him what is this place ? He says he doesn’t really know himself. They got told that everyone who wasn’t here were the enemy and they were led to believe that this was a safe place, that everyone else were savages and were meant to har them. Alice asks him if he believed that and he says he never believed it, but it’s impossible to get out of there, he tried.

Frank is brought to Erik (Lars Mikkelsen) who sits in his office, dressed in all black, as usual. Richard (Alistair Petrie) is standing next to him, also as usual. They stand in silence and Erik finally breaks the tension by asking Frank who he is and why did he try to break in their facility. Frank answers back with some questions of his own, asking him where the hell is he and what is this place. Richard pins him back against his chair and tells him that he’s not in a position to be asking questions, so he better answer. Frank reluctantly tells them is name, but he swears that he wasn’t trying to break in. They say they have him on camera, companied by a woman, breaking in the facility. He should tell them why he came here, or else they will kill his lady friend when they find her. 

Everyone hears through the speakers that they all called back to their rooms, a specialized team will now be searching for the intruder. Justine tells Spencer that they better get back , because he remembers what happened last time he missed a countdown. Alice pleads him to come with her and Spencer says he really can’t, or else they’ll torture Justine. Alice says it’s nice of him to choose a stranger over his wife and kids. Spencer assures her that it’s not about that. He can’t leave and she can’t stay here, it’s unfortunate, but it’s the way it is. He promises her that he’ll be out of here soon and she asks him how he’s going to do that. He says he has a plan, but he doesn’t want to elaborate on that. Justine grabs him by the arm and she says they have to go now. Spencer gives her his gun, in case she needs it and  Alice starts crying and asks him how he’ll be able to leave, but Spencer is out of her sight. She remembers they are looking for her, so she traces back her step. 

When Spencer and Justine get back in their cell, they are met by Erik and Richard in their cell block. They announce to everyone that a new person will join them, his name is Frank. A soldier pushes Frank forward. He’s bleeding from the mouth and nose and he seems dizzy. They assign him to a cell, right next to Spencer and Justine’s. Spencer tries to get his attention, but Frank is out of it. Murmurs around the cell block say people are starting to feel like they are prisoners rather than protected from their own good. Back in their cell, Justine finally gets the chance to ask Spencer aout the gun he stole and she asks him if it’s all about his plan to get out of here and he says it is. He hides the gun under his mattress again when Richard comes knocking on their door, telling Spencer that his gun was missing when they came back and he better have a good reason. 

Alice is back where she left Frank and she wonders if she should wait for him. She glances back at the buildings and she sees something moving in her direction. She gets closer to take a look and she finds out that it’s a camera. She runs back to the snowmobile and takes off, heading back home. 

Emily (Thomasin McKenzie) is crouching on the ground in the forest, nervous. She listens to every sound, the wind, the snow, the animals, everything. She holds on to her rifle closely. She’s beginning to fall asleep, but she can’t fall asleep. It’s cold outside, she would need to make a fire, like her mother thought her in their backyard when she was younger. She gets up when she realises that she’s alone in the wilderness and she covers her tracks behind her with snow. The process is tedious, but worth it. She puts together a small camp fire and she struggles to light the thing on fire, but she’s ultimately successful. She sighs in relief and gets closer to the fire to benefit from the warmth. She falls asleep, hoping to be able to open her eyes once again.

Alice gets back home in the middle of the night and she sees that all the candles are still lit and she’s proud of her daughter, because she stayed up, like she thought her too. She enters the house and finds out that it was ravaged by people. She starts calling for Emily, but soon comes to realise that she isn’t home. Alice starts crying on her bed. She lets her head rest on the side and sees something by the window. There’s a trail outside. It’s not foot trails, but something else. She wipes her tears, hoping for the best.