In this formally inventive domestic drama, presented in the NEXT Competition of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Ricky D’Ambrose’s The Cathedral, reveals dysfunction and explosiveness of an American family.
As Sundance has jumpstarted many young filmmakers’ careers, they always sneak in one or two experimental or formally challenging films into their line-up found in the NEXT section that always gets far less attention from the main competition slate. In the past three years, the NEXT section brought We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, The Killing of Two Lovers, and Give Me Liberty, that formally challenged the typical Sundance goer. This year, Ricky D’Ambrose’s The Cathedral, may very well be the best film in the NEXT section from the past three years. In The Cathedral, D’Ambrose portrays a provincial American family in New York spanning two decades of the impressionistic view of the Damrosch family from the lens of the newly born son, Jesse Damrosch. As we grow with Jesse, we view these fragmented segments of his life watching his immediate family diminish with the backdrop of American history.
Jesse was born in 1987 to Richard Damrosch (Brian d’Arcy James) and Lydia Orkin (Monica Barbaro) in New York. Richard, a narcissistic, American man owns his own printing business and Lydia, a health care worker in the hospital’s maternity ward, shows us their families together through several events of Jesse’s life. Birthdays, Christmas, vacations, and memorable events in Jesse’s life such as visits to the grandparents, showcases Jesse’s dysfunctional family relationships. Richard, with a background that tells the history of American men, transitioning to the turn of the century, begins to see the fall of his life. A failing printing business, racking up debt, and aggressive behavior between almost everyone he interacts with. Lydia, the mother who has to keep up with Richard and nurture, is more supported by all and passively accepts Richard’s behavior until their divorce many years later. The nature vs nurture between male and female, respectively, shapes Jesse’s identity unto himself.
Throughout The Cathedral, snippets of events showcase Richard’s brawly behavior towards his family and Lydia’s as well. Lydia’s family history also shows dysfunctionality as well. A grudge between siblings on who to will be the permanent caretaker shows a life long grudge with no empathy invites the audience to these maddening short stories of each of the families. Behind all this, is Jesse. Jesse, who is shaped and witnessing these traumatic events, grows into his own. Realizing the good and the bad, these events are what D’Ambrose shape into his intricate narrative. With a novel-like structure starting and ending with grade-school photo portraits determining the space and time, begins each chapter of Jesse’s life, giving perspective and context of the archival footage of America’s history of war, politics, and major events.
The most inventive film of the festival so far, D’Ambrose’s form sets his films different apart from the rest. An oblique and precise cinematography places each character at the center of the frame. Almost like talking heads, a personal and upfront dialogue between each character hold a heavy weight to it allowing each of the actors to perform at their best. As the film progresses and concludes with Jesse finishing high school, his fragmented memories of family reflect an encapsulation of a family doomed from generational upbringing and American tradition.
