To Take A Lover

In the 1940s, a young housewife finds herself in the throes of a surreal sexual awakening following an altercation with her new husband.

  • Michelle Siracusa
    Director
  • Michelle Siracusa
    Writer
    House of Little Deaths, I Am No Bird
  • Michelle Siracusa
    Producer
    From Her To Eternity, I Am No Bird
  • Scout Tafoya
    Producer
    House of Little Deaths, Eyam, Beata Virgo Viscera
  • Michelle Siracusa
    Key Cast
    "Wife"
    House of Little Deaths, I Am No Bird, From Her To Eternity
  • Ian Potter
    Key Cast
    "John"
  • Gabe Milligan-Green
    Key Cast
    "Death"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Psychological Drama, Period Piece, Dance, Melodrama, Horror, Thriller, Feminist
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 45 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 12, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Michelle Siracusa

Michelle works in many mediums: writing, directing, and performing for the stage and screen. Dabbling in taboo, dark, and complex subject matter, she strives to push boundaries and subvert audience experiences physically and emotionally. With a background in psychology, her work often explores the complexities of interpersonal relationships, the failures of the mind and body, and our attempted control of the psyche. She composes music under the pseudonym Sin Machines and is the Co-Artistic Director of Strange Bird Theatre Co.

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Director Statement

I made a film I wanted to see and knew no one would make.

I’m interested in how depression affects the mind and how self-harm is rarely ever an attempt to end one’s life or cause pain. It is, instead, something the body does to process or gain control of one’s current existence. I am exploring what happens when the body and mind don’t work in sync, and how we can create our own realities if we want or need to.

I wonder why the general public still feels the need to pull away from people who are struggling with mental health issues, leaving them to their own devices or treating their issues like incurable, chosen maladies. I’m asking why we still don’t have respectful language and social maturity to listen to, embrace, and aid those in need, instead of whispering about, ignoring, or dismissing them.

I wonder how, despite the many years between now and the 1940s, women are still subject to being gaslit and pressured into the same traditional family tropes. Women still get pushback for wanting careers, for their lack of interest in domesticity or having children, for wanting sex apart from love.

And I am angry that I don’t see as much female complexity, pain, growth, and power in art as I’d like.