Linda is at a night club one evening waiting for her boyfriend. When he refuses to show up, Linda is dispirited and decides to go in nevertheless and have a good time herself. In the club, she meets a stranger Rene. Rene strikes up a conversation with her and a curious Linda plays along. They decide to retire to Rene’s apartment for further celebrations. Fueled by cocaine they make the most of their one night together. As they retire for the night they have a talk where they explore more about each other. They explore the reason why the other is driven to cocaine and the complications of their relationships. During that conversation, exploring the reasons driving the other person’s deeds, they realize things about themselves they did not understand earlier. The next morning, when they part ways, they leave with a better understanding of their relationships and where they have faltered.
‘A Jag in a Duplex system’ is a short from director Valerie Knill. Valerie takes a few pages out of the lives of two seemingly regular young partygoers out to have a good time and explore why they need to let out steam with cocaine at parties. An unhurried narrative effectively reigns in a restless camera that is out to capture the buzz at the party, setting an optimum pace for the story that is neither racy nor too dull. The convincing performances from the cast bring to the surface the underlying pain of the characters and explains their need to have a grand time when the opportunity presents itself. The writing, especially the sequence between the two in the car, is the piece de resistance of the courting episode.
‘A Jag in a Duplex System’ is a take on how relationships seem to constrict while they are meant to set you free. Ironically, it is the pain caused by a toxic relationship that often drives one to substances for an escape. Understanding a relationship and placing it in the right box is sometimes enough to solve the problem.
