‘Me, Myself and the Void’ review: Dir. Tim Hautekiet

Tim Hautekiet’s Me, Myself and the Void offers a fresh spin on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol narrative. The film stars Jack De Sena as a stand-up comedian (helpfully also named Jack) who finds himself trapped inside a mysterious void. Existing outside of the normal realm of space and time, he is joined by the projection of his best friend, Chris (Chris W. Smith), to try and puzzle out why his real world body lies motionless on the bathroom floor. During the investigation, Jack revisits pivotal moments and encounters from his more recent past. Who, or what, put his body on the floor, and more importantly, can he make his way back into it? 

The A Christmas Carol plot riff is a fun one, and although not set at Christmas, and Jack isn’t quite as bad as Scrooge, he is not the easiest character to connect with. Having recently broken up with his long time girlfriend, Mia (Kelly Marie Tran), Jack is at a crossroads in his life and has been taking his own problems out on those around him. His comedy career is a joke, his lack of earnings causing him to rely heavily on the bank of his parents. There is also the problem of his new housemate, a peculiar man who sleeps in a room with a sinister purple light. Furthermore, Jack is not happy about Chris’ girlfriend and does little to mask his feelings. Although not cancelling Christmas, Jack is repeatedly rude and thoughtless to those around him, and it doesn’t take long for the viewer to understand why someone in his life could have cause to render him unconscious. 

As with Dickens’ famous story, Me, Myself and the Void presents Jack with the opportunity to better himself. His tour down memory lane helps him discover the severity of his behaviour. It is a clever reworking of the classic tale and another welcome entry into the pantheon of bad men waking up to themselves. Whilst a lot of the plot points sound heavy, Hautekiet is careful not to weigh the film down. Instead there is a lightness to the tone that injects fun into Jack’s existential crisis. Much of this is helped by the performance of Jack De Sena, who manages to make Jack endearing, despite all his faults. 

Careful to not out stay its welcome, Me, Myself and the Void rushes by, quickly arriving at its final message. In today’s world of toxic masculinity, the message at the heart of Hautekiet’s film is an important one. The film also allows for male characters to be seen in a vulnerable state, which is even more important to see represented on screen. That both of these elements are handled under the veil of comedy makes them more comfortable for the audience and will hopefully spark a change in some who find themselves identifying with Jack a little too closely. 

Me, Myself and the Void is out on Digital in the US now.