The Deposit

A subversion of Hollywood's worn out white savior storyline, The Deposit provocatively explores the fine line between kindness and cruelty when self-interest is at stake. Gisella, the forty-year-old protagonist, is in a bit of a pickle. She's lost her journalism job and she doesn't have any ready cash for her bills because she invested in her former boyfriend's business, but never saw any returns. What she does have, however, is a beautiful old house that belonged to her grandparents, full of empty rooms and elegant things. When Gisella starts researching a story about immigrants, she winds up renting two of the spare bedrooms in her home to women she meets. The arrangement begins well for all parties, but eventually turns into a vicious psychological power struggle. The film may be read as a metaphor for a homogenous society that believes itself to be liberal and culturally open, but discovers that, when challenged, the reality is very different.