Returning home after a long time away from family is hard enough. People get older, significant others come into the picture, and there are overall changes in personality you have to get used to. These feelings are immediately centered at the beginning of Yana Alliata’s ‘Reeling’ where Ryan (Ryan Wuestewald) coming home for his sister Meg’s (Nikki DeParis) birthday luau at the beautiful family estate should be celebratory. However, through the lens of Rafael Leyva’s one shot, you quickly sense that something is off. Longtime family friends are going out of their way to reintroduce themselves with memory markers to Ryan once he arrives. Meg and other sibling, John (Hans Christopher), are happy Ryan has arrived, but are also weirdly hesitant to embrace him as a family member would.
It’s not immediately apparent what has happened until you see the horror in Ryan’s eyes and the big scar on the side of his head. From there, ‘Reeling’ slowly explains the accident’s circumstances as his character interacts with others around him. It’s to the credit of Alliata and co-writer Amy Miner, who tease the mystery in doses while progressing the story. A few years prior, Ryan was on the receiving end of a terrible accident that impacted his memory, emotions, and motor skills. He’s been living with his mother while he tries to get some semblance of his life back. From what the audience sees, he’s starting to do a little better in reintegrating into society — even if he’s treated as this strange elephant in the room during this particular weekend. Even with the progress, it feels as though the world has moved on without Ryan, and they aren’t waiting for him to catch up.
Alliata handles the film much like Ryan’s family and mutual friends handle him. There are spaces in time where scenes of the luau being prepped happen, allowing a natural character study of Ryan’s character. He wants to help as best as possible, but unfortunately, things get in the way. There’s a volleyball game going on where Ryan is asked to sub, but he doesn’t remember how to play. It’s sad to watch. However, there are moments when he speaks to a character and recalls lines from Shakespeare. Paired with Wuestewald’s usage of facial expressions that portray a longing for something or terror in realizing a repressed memory, these devices help keep the story riveting. There are slight tranquil moments of happiness when Ryan plays a game of catch with a young teen – then you realize he’s relegated to the kids’ table of things.
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Things reach an apex point within ‘Reeling’s third act when Ryan tries to force himself into the ongoing festivities. Not only is he dealing with the aftermath of his injuries, the introduction of alcohol doesn’t make matters better. From then on, it’s clear Ryan’s family and friends merely tolerate him and skate around the circumstances of the injury. There’s an underlying tension between Ryan and John throughout the film, which is impactful, but it could have used a little more time to flesh it out. That’s not to say ‘Reeling’ doesn’t work entirely. The film is still an effective, albeit scary, exercise in which those who love you the most treat you like an alien due to a situation beyond your control.
Reeling premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
