The Crease Of This Couch

The Crease of This Couch, directed by Jada Zilm, is a poetic and introspective short that captures the quiet struggle of slipping back into old habits, the ones we know are bad for us, yet feel impossible to escape. The film stands out for its inventive metaphor, emotional honesty, and striking visual composition, deserving of its Best Unley award win.

At its core, the film examines the tension between comfort and discomfort, the way familiar pain can feel safer than unfamiliar freedom. Through the image of falling into the crease of a couch, Zilm constructs a vivid metaphor for emotional stagnation, that sinking feeling of being trapped in a space that once offered comfort but now confines. It’s a powerful and universally relatable idea, rendered with sensitivity and precision.

Visually, the film is stunning in its simplicity. The couch, shot in muted tones and soft lighting, becomes a living symbol, warm and inviting at first, then suffocating as the protagonist struggles to move. The pacing is deliberate, allowing the audience to feel that same slow descent, that numbing pull. The single lingering shot of the couch helps with this feeling, making the pull feel long and slow, despite having a short runtime.

The sound design and score complement this perfectly, blending ambient tones and muffled sounds that mirror the internal weight of returning to old patterns. The narration is minimal yet impactful, offering poetic reflections that deepen the emotional resonance.

While the film’s metaphor is beautifully recognised, giving a moment of transformation in the protagonist, even subtle, might provide greater closure without losing the film’s quiet ambiguity. Still, its introspective tone remains compelling.

The Crease of This Couch is a beautifully restrained and relatable piece of filmmaking. Through elegant visual storytelling and emotional clarity, Zilm turns something as ordinary as a couch into a haunting metaphor for the human tendency to return to what once held us.