'Poison' (2023) is stressful. This simple set-up of a man trapped in bed because of a snake leaves the audience in frozen state of nerves. The dialogue (mostly narrative) is detailed and given with such an intensity you drift into the scene yourself.
The scenery takes place mostly in a bedroom with the interior and exterior part of the house being movable pieces much like a play would be. The environment is active like a character and adds to the anxious plot.
On the surface the plot is simple and could be as old as time, but its what's in-between the lines that tell a much larger story. Roald Dahl paints this in his original story, and Wes Anderson with conservative creative control further adds to the story with unacknowledged visual objects and scenery.
This film, like the other Anderson directed films in the "four-part" series are all lessons in story-telling. Each having their own in-between the lines story.
Watch all of them. But don't miss out on this one even if you think its just another short film.
