My past few years of screening for VIFF and Fantasia have afforded me some pretty exciting sneak previews of upcoming indie films, but rarely am I as excited to watch something as I was when Ben Petrie’s The Heirloom showed up in my inbox back in March. My first experience with Petrie was through his excruciatingly funny 2016 short film Her Friend Adam, which my friend Ryan showed me the first time we sat down to watch movies together, shortly after the COVID lockdown. We met volunteering at the Cinematheque and instantly bonded, becoming great friends and writing partners. Years later he accompanied my wife and me to Montreal for Fantasia, where we saw Grace Glowicki (Petrie’s partner and co-star of The Heirloom) in Mary Dauterman’s hilarious, gross-out, cat movie Booger. I was hooked after circling back to Glowicki’s wild first feature Tito.

Alongside making a new friend, the time in quarantine brought along new pet projects. I took up brewing premium coffee and spent more time writing, leading to new employment opportunities in third-wave coffee and festival programming. The Heirloom begins with a similar jumping-off point as we meet Eric and Allie, stuck inside and with too much time on their hands. Eric fills the days working on a screenplay but seems to spend much of his writing time with his pants down and the close-all-tabs hotkey at the ready. Allie is bored out of her mind and has her heart set on getting a dog. Her early attempts to discuss pet adoption with Eric are met with convoluted ethical debates and scheduling issues. The comedic chemistry in these early scenes highlights the gap between Ben’s neurotic, high-strung Eric and Grace’s carefree Allie. 

Eric finally agrees to adopt but on his terms. His detailed research and planning lead the couple to a traumatized rescue dog from the Dominican Republic. They follow Eric’s plan to the letter, avoiding eye contact and talking when they pick up the dog from the airport, hoping that presenting a calm demeanour will help the new arrival warm to its surroundings. They name the dog Milly and eventually, she opens up to the couple, though her new diet (Eric is vegan) doesn’t seem to agree with her stomach. One night, while making a home movie about his pet and his partner, Eric is hit with a flash of inspiration and decides to scrap his screenplay and refocus on making a movie about Grace and him raising their dog.

This is when things get interesting as The Heirloom evolves from a hilarious screwball comedy about a couple in isolation and their dog into a deeply personal and metafictional piece that blurs the lines between fiction and reality. Trapped between two versions of himself (A self-described workaholic and family man) Eric’s film takes over the proceedings, giving us multiple retakes of moments that had come before. Milly’s gastrointestinal issues get worse and the pair stress over her bowel movements and frequent trips to the vet. Structurally, the film unravels, as the couple drifts further apart, and we are often left wondering if what we are watching is real or “acting,” but what better way to dramatize such a cataclysmically surreal experience as the lockdown?

Months after seeing The Heirloom, my wife and I adopted a cat. I revisited the film a few weeks later while writing about it for the VIFF program and saw it echoing through my own recent experiences. Not only had I taken on Eric’s obsessively detailed and controlling approach to pet training, but we also found ourselves strangely obsessed with our cat’s bowel movements. The day our little furball Katsuo finally parked herself in her litter box and had her first poop was the highlight of the summer.

I’m full of excitement this morning, as I feed my cat her breakfast and get myself ready for day 1 of VIFF. On day 3 (Saturday Sept 28th) I’ll have the privilege of moderating a Q&A for The Heirloom with Ben Petrie at The Cinematheque. Having my first Q&A at my favourite theatre in the city with a director I admire is a priceless experience and I’m eager to share it with everyone. Get tickets to The Heirloom HERE.