Award-winning writer and director Ventura Durall returns with a twisted tale of misspent youth, lost love, and the monotony of matrimony with The Offering, or L’Ofrena to use its native language title. In The Offering, Jan (Alex Brendemühl), a mysterious man plagued with guilt, tries to win back the love of his ex, Violeta (Anna Alarcón), with a sickening plan involving the help of his wife Rita (Verónica Echegui).
The Offering tells its story across two time periods: the present, and twenty years prior. In the present, psychiatrist Violeta is approached by Rita, a woman posing as a potential patient who informs Violeta that her husband Jan has become obsessed with another woman. The woman Rita is talking about is Violeta herself, Jan claiming that the two have shared a lustful past. Determined to keep her man no matter the cost, Rita pleads with Violeta to meet up with Jan. Violeta reluctantly agrees, but once reunited, she spirals into memories of the past. It is at this point that the second time period appears; we join a much younger version of Violeta and Jan, played by Claudia Riera and Josh Climent. The two are somewhat star-crossed lovers and they embark on a passionate affair, one which ends abruptly, causing Violeta a great deal of hurt. We then link back up with the present and see the stark contrast between the careful teenager that Violeta once was, and the downtrodden career woman and mother that she has become. She has never quite recovered from the one that got away, and as she begins to be drawn to Jan once more, her life completely unravels.
This tricky and clever narrative structure is brought to life by some nuanced performances from all involved. At the heart of The Offering is an unhealthy love triangle, one in which each point is equally fleshed out and given time to marinate in the mind of the viewer. There’s the passionate and fiery Rita, played by Fortitude’s Veroníca Echegui with such unhinged vigor and torment that she almost steals the spotlight from both Jan and Violeta. Violeta is the character that we spend the most time with and both actors playing her, Anna Alarcón and Claudia Riera, give fantastic turns. The two play like different sides of the same coin, which is exactly what is needed to convey the inner workings of Violeta. As Jan, Alex Brendemühl has less work to do than his female counterparts, but that doesn’t make him any less important. His job is to use his poker face on both women and the audience alike, remaining enigmatic right to the very end.
There’s a hunger and an intensity to The Offering that feeds into the themes evoked within. Durall repeatedly teases the audience, never fully revealing his true intentions until he’s adequately worked up the viewer’s interest. He toys with those watching, leaving them desperately trying to work out the alliances of the players and just how events will move forwards. Duvall plants many red herrings and misdirections throughout, making it near impossible to predict where the story will end. Occasionally Duvall oversteps with his showmanship, risking losing some to sheer bewilderment of the intricacies of the story. The lost will eventually find their way back, as by the end, all truths are exposed and the harsh reality dawns.
A psycho sexual drama that Paul Verhoeven would be proud to stick his name on, The Offering weaves its way through the warped landscape of obsession and unrequited love. Simultaneously erotic and repulsive, Durall explores the more dangerous side of love, lust, and infatuation and proves that first love can be potent enough to contort into something exceptionally dangerous.
The Offering is released on 30th July, in cinemas and on virtual cinemas and VOD.
The Offering
Summary
Simultaneously sensual and unsettling, The Offering is an exploration into the darker side of yearning, and will have you in Durall’s palm until the very bitter ending.
