Alphabet Lane by James Litchfield (2025)

Watched by Matthew Donlan

There once lived a man and a woman on Alphabet Lane. Or at least that's true according to Jack (Nicholas Denton).

Jack is an engineer working on a major project in Cooma. He and his partner, Anna (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) have moved from Sydney to the regional town looking for a change in pace. Anna, a nurse, works the night shifts at the local clinic. The two have opted to seclude themselves from the town, instead staying at a rural farm run by owner Cory (Henry Nixon). Given their asynchronous schedules, the two rarely have time together. The quality time they do get is a few minutes of conversation on the side of a dirt road as their journeys in and out of town crossover between shifts.

Things change though when, one night, Jack jokingly says he met a neighbour, farmer Joe. Anna plays along with the bit and a few days later says she met Joe's wife, Michelle. This kicks off a game between the two, adding flourishes to the lives of this imaginary couple. They begin writing 'secret' letters to their imaginary counterpart, and receive letters back. But the innocent joke seems to have no end. As the couple riskily bring up Joe and Michelle around visiting friends, colleagues and Cory, deeper truths emerge about the lies we tell ourselves.

Alphabet Lane is a confident feature debut from writer/director James Litchfield who intelligently crafts a script which keeps you guessing. The premise, an intriguing one to begin with, unfolds in interesting and surprising ways with a keen eye to the social tension it produces. It's a contained script with a small cast, but Litchfield does well to keep the pace, bringing the runtime under 90 minutes while never feeling rushed.

The film speaks to the city vs country argument that has plagued this nation since federation with a 21st century approach. The couple's residency at the farm takes on an air of cosplaying. Having moved from the city, the pair, driven by Jack's enthusiasm, have romanticised life in the country. The quiet, picturesque landscape and 'simple life' it offers appeals to the young couple escaping the busyness of the city. Cory, the farm owner, quietly puts in the hard work each day without much recognition while Jack feels emboldened from chopping one piece of wood.

In one early scene, the pair are visited by some friends from the city and these differences in attitudes become clearer. The house and land, for Jack and Anna, are a chance to show off to their friends and receive the external validation that they 'made it'. The country, in this way, is used as a tool to gain a feeling a superiority while never actively engaging with its culture.

This is also demonstrated by the couple's peculiar decision not to live closer to the town. They have actively chosen not to make an attempt to connect more with the local community but instead to isolate themselves in their own fantasy. And it's this fantasy that enables the pair to become consumed by their lies. In this bubble they have created, the lie is allowed to grow and evolve unchecked. They disregard the potential effects on those actually around them for their own joy. This lie is just a further extension of the idolised country life they have built in their minds and demonstrates that they feel safer in this imagined world than in the real one.

With a small but professional ensemble, bleakly gorgeous landscapes and a taut script, Alphabet Lane is a simple but intellectually engaging picture that implies more than it says.

Alphabet Lane is screening now in cinemas.

Pick of the Week
This week you have the chance to be part of a unique artistic experience with Set! Taking over a private residential home for three nights, Set!, uses the rooms and furniture as a canvas on which multimedia works are projected. By doing so, it interrogates the artificial connection between media and our home life. Tickets are available here.

New Releases - Thursday 23 April

• Alphabet Lane (James Litchfield) AUS
• Exit 8 (Genki Kawamura)
• Beast (Tyler Atkins)
• Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)
• Jean Valjean (Éric Besnard)
• Michael (Antoine Fuqua)