Written by Nynoshka Vazquez Suazo
Avan Jogia, the Canadian actor know for playing Beck in Nickelodeon’s Victorious, Danny in Freeform’s twisted, and the 2017 film The Outcasts puts on his triple-threat shoes as actor, director, and writer in the film Door Mouse.
The story follows Mouse (Hayley Law), a burlesque dancer, and aspiring comic book artist. In the span of a week, two of her friends go missing. She and her friend Ugly (Keith Powers) begin to ask very dangerous questions while investigating her friends’ whereabouts.
As an aspiring comic book artist we see Mouse’s art in not only her work but incorporated in the film itself. Many sequences in the film, mostly those that involved danger or a stronger flush of emotion, transition into a comic book. In most cases this can turn into something too cartoony very quickly. However, in this instance it amplifies Mouse’s thoughts, emotions, and reactions to the situation around her. The cinematography also has elements of noir film which adds to its mystery and depth.
The transition into the film’s main conflict is subtle, but clever and relatable. Mouse begins every morning with a cup of coffee and a cigarette; one morning her coffee was bad, and that’s when everything starts to go wrong. The music added a sense of calm that made you uncomfortable, adding to the mystery and the thrill of the story, which goes hand in hand with the performance of the leading lady Hayley Law. Her approach gives her character a type of juxtaposition, projecting both a sense of control and complete chaos.
It has to be respected that there is no real love interest for Mouse in the film. Rather than give Mouse a man to rely on or try to gain as a romantic partner, she is on her own, “tough as a nail” as she’s described. Instead, the men in the film are sidekicks and the reversal of common Hollywood gender roles is to be applauded. The women are in charge, while the men were just there for decoration. The sex scene between Mouse and Moony (Jogia) was done with class and elegance. Rather than the typical Hollywood fashion, there is no lead-in, there is no steamy moment, and there is no stripping or nudity. Instead a black screen with a single moan, and when we are reintroduced to the characters the two aren’t in bed together, but Mouse on her own.
Furthermore, it was a common occurrence where Ugly (whose real name is Ryan) is considered a pretty face, the prettiest face within the group, but they call him Ugly. “Because Ugly is just…Ugly,” Mouse says to another who points out his attractiveness. This was incredibly eye-opening as it puts the man in a position that’s not common in Hollywood, or more common for female roles. Even more so, the film brought a different kind of power to burlesque dancers and sex workers, that is usually stripped away in Hollywood.
Door Mouse is an incredible piece of cinema, which brings qualities of genres and aesthetics that are rarely seen in today’s film scene in a tasteful way. As well as challenges capitalism in a way that doesn’t make the film about politics, but instead about life affected by politics through the perspective of arguably the lowest of the working class. These are the type of project an aspiring actress would love to be a part of. Avan masterfully demonstrated his abilities beyond being a pretty face in front of the screen, but a real talent behind it as well. I look forward to seeing what else he comes up with in the future.
Door Mouse is now available to stream on HULU.
