Restless (2024) ‘Tribeca’ Movie Review: Lyndsey Marshal’s Breathtaking Performance Drives This Nail-Biting Drama about an Empty Nester

Jed Hart’s “Restless” (2024) reminded me of my experience watching last year’s “The Teachers’ Lounge.” Despite being a drama film about a teacher’s anxieties, it gradually builds up the tension to a crescendo, which even a lot of thrillers struggle to do so. “Restless” functions quite similarly in that regard. Despite being about an empty nester and her emotional struggles, it is incredibly tense to the point it feels like a never-ending panic attack. It operates almost like the Safdie brothers’ anxiety-inducing thrillers. However, it doesn’t rely solely on the situational tension and explores the psychological upheavals of its central character.

“Restless” follows Nicky (Lyndsey Marshal), a middle-aged empty nester who works as a caregiver. With her son gone for greener pastures, she is all alone in her suburban house. She hopes to live her days in peace and solitude. However, her plan begins to crumble once a group of young people move into her adjoining house and start making a lot of noise. Initially, she tolerates their racket, thinking it will be a matter of just a night or two. But it keeps happening every single night, which makes it impossible for her to fall asleep. So, she asks her young neighbor, Deano (Aston McAuley), to keep it down.

Deano agrees to keep the volume down. However, he brings it to the same ear-numbing loudness every following night. Nicky returns with the hope that the youths will be kind to her. But they refuse to lower the volume. Instead, Deano mocks her for ruining their fun and intimidates her. Subsequently, Nicky tries to seek help from the police but doesn’t receive any. Even her neighbors refuse to take any action. Instead of getting into any argument, they remain in their shell of comfort and pretend that it doesn’t bother them. While all this happens, Nicky battles with her sleeplessness and struggles to be attentive at her job.

Nicky tries to find one or the other solution to escape her misery. Her friend, Kevin (played by Barry Ward), helps her with the hope of her company. But she is so caught up in the worries about her neighbors that she can hardly consider any other hopes or desires. Since Deano & his mates refuse to respect her wishes, she starts looking for some outlandish ways to silence their incessant noise. The film follows her journey as she tries to prevail against these young men who do not let her have even a moment of comfort. As the matter escalates, she is forced to contemplate some severe measures to attain solitude.

As an empty nester, all Nicky wants is to experience the little joys of her mundane life. But she couldn’t explore even an iota of that joy or satisfaction in her present. Through every new solution that she contemplates, she slowly descends into the steps of absolute insanity. Through his script, Jed Hart keeps amping up the tension and turns the film into a visceral experience. In its ticking-bomb set-up, the script pits two adversaries against each other and makes fine use of their unavoidable desires and uncompromising nature. Simultaneously, the script deftly explores Nicky’s psychological struggles.

“Restless” utilizes a discordant soundscape, with contrasting high and low notes, to depict Nicky’s descent into mental chaos. Lyndsey Marshal’s stunning central performance aptly brings out Nicky’s utter helplessness in the face of a daunting situation without letting her appear weak or nimble. Marshal highlights Nicky’s resilience throughout her growing frustration, which makes it hard not to root for her. Similarly, Aston McAuley plays seemingly one-note Deano with such an intimidating authority that it is impossible not to despise him.

However, “Restless” suffers from a couple of narrative issues. Especially in its second act, some of its moments feel contrived. At times, they make sense emotionally but not logically. Of course, oddness is not unexpected in this premise. Still, the contrived moments feel like cop-outs toward a moment of admirable catharsis. Besides, after building so much tension, the film goes out with a whimper. Yet, for a film about an old woman battling her helplessness, “Restless” is a remarkably taut psychological thriller.

Restless is a part of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.

Restless (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Letterboxd
The Cast of Restless (2024) Movie: Lyndsey Marshal, Aston McAuley, Barry Ward, Kate Robbins, Denzel Baidoo, Ben Crow, Tom Keller, Matt Emery, Ken Doherty, Ciara Ford, Kate Webster, Juliet Guiness, Declan Adamson