Numbing: Behind The Film

After a night out in Montreal, a young woman finds herself in conversation with a stranger. Lost in her contemplation, she hints at a parallel between remaining in a shower that has turned cold and holding onto a relationship that has lost its affectionate warmth.

Though we may not always admit it, often times we remain in toxic relationships and hold onto a past love out of fear of being lonely. Disguised by a conversation about showers, “Numbing” touches on the pain of lost love as well as jealousy in relationships.

Moreover, the imagery of the protagonist's obsessive smoking is symbolic of her relationship and harmful addiction.

Contrasting the hypnotizing flashing lights of the Montreal nightlife with the peacefulness and cleansing of a shower, the film tells the story of a young woman seeing her ex boyfriend interacting with a new woman. On her way out of the nightclub, she falls into a conversation with a stranger about holding onto something after it’s gone and the difficulty of moving on.

In the end, the film experiments with a non-chronological series of events to accentuate the protagonist’s inability to escape her narrative.