You Belong to Me

Wolfe Video

It's a familiar scenario: boy meets boy. Boy schtups boy. Boy leaves before breakfast. Other boy gets obsessive, stalks boy, moves into his apartment building to spy on him. Okay, that last part is hopefully not so familiar, but it's exactly what young architect Jeffrey does after tailing his ex- (sort of) boyfriend Rene, and learning there's a big, cheap apartment for rent in his building. This is a story about voyeurism and neediness and obsession, but in this building full of secrets, it's not clear if Jeffrey is the hunter or the prey. Why is Rene such a liar? Why is the landlady such a busybody? What's up with the creepy guy across the hall? You Belong to Me plays on the unsettling aspects of the forced but shallow intimacy that strangers can share in cities, a theme reminiscent of some of Roman Polanski's films. Writer/director Sam Zalutsky doesn't wring the maximum tension out his set-up - the film has neither the big shocks nor subtle dread of Rosemary's Baby - but he's crafted a competent thriller with some good scares.