Directors: Alex Mallis, Travis Wood
Writers: Weston Auburn, Alex Mallis, and Travis Wood
Stars: Tristan Turner, Anthony Overbeck, Naomi Asa
Synopsis: A documentary filmmaker depends on his friend’s airline employee benefits for free flights. When the friend finds a girlfriend, he desperately tries to preserve his travel privileges.
Growing up, there was nothing better than having a friend who had access to something cool that I didn’t. A lake house, a boat, or even an in-home movie theater completely elevated that friendship and made it more important for me to keep than some others. Of course, this is not the way to approach friendships as a mature adult, but I was just a kid. The Travel Companion explores what happens when you use a friendship for its perks and obsess over the possibility of losing both the friend and the perks.
The film follows Simon (Tristan Turner), a young filmmaker working an aimless video production job at a taxi advertising company, and his best friend and roommate, Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck), who works as a project manager for an airline, as their relationship is put to the test when Simon’s free flights as Bruce’s travel companion are put in jeopardy by the latter’s new girlfriend. Simon has been using these flights to obtain footage for his new film, which has the longest explanation for a movie that I’ve ever heard. He tries to describe it to other filmmakers and festival programmers several times, and it just gets more convoluted and confusing each time. He’s just as aimless making this film as he is at his dead-end job.
Simon and Bruce have a solid dynamic at the start of the film, doing all kinds of things together and not getting tired of each other. It’s clear from the jump that Bruce is more of a career man, having all his ducks in a row and keeping things together for both himself and Simon. Oberbeck’s performance highlights a level of self-awareness and empathy that allows their friendship to make sense.
Turner’s turn as Simon is almost too good as the narcissistic, socially unaware friend who is holding on to dear life to the one thing that allows him a sense of freedom in his life. Once it becomes clear that Bruce’s girlfriend, Beatrice (Naomi Asa), is a contender for the travel companion perks next year, Simon finds a way to make every conversation with both of them about that decision and why he is more deserving of the spot. His lack of self-awareness and responsibility for himself is infuriating. The end of these perks, and potentially this friendship with the successful and stable Bruce, forces Simon to see a future where he has to fend for himself without much help. It’s hard to accept, and easy to relate to both parties in the relationship.
The story is simple, but I found it incredibly profound and reflective of many friendships throughout my life. Screenwriters Weston Auburn, Alex Mallis, and Travis Wood are touching on very real experiences and how hard it is for some people to grow up, even into their early thirties. Simon uses his dream of becoming a filmmaker as an excuse to shirk his other responsibilities, rather than using his dream and passion for filmmaking to propel him forward in his career. He’s scared of failing, which makes him not try as hard. What happens if it doesn’t work? What will people think of me? He can’t get out of his own head and into the real world, where he has agency to make things happen for himself if he just applies his talents more effectively.
The film’s use of a 4:3 aspect ratio heightens both the intimacy of our two main characters’ relationship as well as the anxiety that slowly builds in Simon throughout the movie. These tight shots and close-ups don’t leave a lot of room on the margins of the frame, leaving you feeling as trapped as Simon does.
The Travel Companion starts to lose steam towards the end as Simon’s antics grow increasingly tiresome and desperate. Bruce’s patience wears thin, and so does the audience’s. Despite this slowdown towards the end, the movie is incredibly funny and speaks to relatable themes of friendship and being stuck in a place in life that you are both desperate and scared to get out of. Turner and Oberbeck are great in their roles, and they bring out the script’s heart brilliantly.
