It is remarkable how much insight you glean into your close friendships, kinships, relationship with your significant other and, most importantly, into yourself, on a vacation. Away from the hustle and bustle of one’s daily life, one achieves a form of crystal clear clarity and realizes what works and who works in favor of attaining your happiness and who and what does not. Such is the very concept that lies at the heart of That’s Not Us, a viscerally stunning and raw exploration of modern relationships.

On a late summer weekend getaway to a picturesque island (think of the Hamptons-like setting of Showtime’s The Affair), three distinct couples at different stages in their respective relationships (one gay, one lesbian, and one straight) conjugate at one of their Aunt’s home for a stay they will never soon forget. Alex (Sarah Wharton) and Jackie (Nicole Pursell, doubling as the film’s skilled production designer) have been together for years but have suffered a drought in their physical intimacy for months and it has taken a strenuous toll on both ladies. Alex’s sister Liz (Elizabeth Gray), meanwhile, is still very much in the lust haze beginnings of her relationship with Dougie (Tommy Nelms). It is not until Liz teaches Dougie how to ride a bike (a literal and metaphorical endeavor) that they learn how little they know of each other and how to best balance her stubborn bullheadedness with his fragile passive-aggressiveness. Finally there’s Alex’s best friend James (Mark Berger) and his partner Spencer (David Rysdahl), who get lost in the woods (again, both a literal and symbolic journey) after quarreling over Spencer’s impending trip away to graduate school.

Director William Sullivan (with a script co-written by Sullivan and Derek Dodge, although the eight day filming was largely improvised) crafts a beautiful telling of the inner workings of three authentic twentysomething couples. You will not find any gender or sexual tropes in this very stripped down film, making it all the more original and pure filmmaking at its best.

[star v=45]