Broken Ceiling

In the cinematic thriller "Broken Ceiling" from 2018, Director Adam Davis paints a picture of frustration, adversity and corporate politics, hidden behind the veils of a seemingly normal 9 to 5 job. With a compelling cast including Davis himself alongside Jay Disney and Jaime Gallagher, the movie is a pointed commentary on gender disparity in corporate America and the difficulties faced by women to get their voices heard.

"Broken Ceiling" follows the story of an everyday woman, Angela Jensen, played brilliantly by Jaime Gallagher. Angela is an epitome of hundreds of thousands of women working tirelessly in corporate jobs, doing their best to balance their professional and personal lives. Despite her efforts, she's constantly overlooked for promotions and repeatedly made to feel like her presence, skills and contributions are inconsequential.

When we meet Angela, she's on a downward path, having been recently passed over for another promotion. She carries her frustrations into an all-day meeting, forced to bear her voice being continuously silenced, dismissed, and her ideas credited to her male counterparts. In all aspects, Angela is stuck in this constant loop of corporate misogyny. But as time passes, this uneventful day takes an unexpected turn: the staff find themselves locked inside the meeting room.

The room, which once only exuded the frustrations of another regular working day, soon turns into an intense, physical, and visceral arena, a boiling pot ready to go off. Adding to this, the dynamics of the trapped occupants alter drastically when time seems to be running out with no rescuers in sight.

Adam Davis then introduces a role switch when Chuck (played by Jay Disney), Angela's obnoxious and chauvinistic boss, begins to lose his grip on the situation. His corporate power becomes meaningless within the confines of the meeting room where survival instincts take precedence over patriarchal prerogatives. As the pressure builds within the locked chamber, the power dynamics start to shift, leading the way to a tension-filled showdown.

The film is a psychological thriller where the scares don’t come from an external monster, but internal human emotions like anger, fear, and frustration. However, at its core, "Broken Ceiling" is an allegory on gender politics in the corporate world—both the struggle for women to get their voices heard and the drudgery of having to prove themselves repeatedly. The narrative uses restrictive physical space to mirror the restrictive professional space many women find themselves in.

In a genre that often hangs on high stakes melt-downs, “Broken Ceiling” instead thrives on all-too-relatable pent-up frustrations and the tantalizing question of when, not if, they are going to erupt. Davis manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout this unnerving film.

The acting performances by Adam Davis, Jay Disney, and Jaime Gallagher are incredibly robust. Gallagher, in particular, gives a memorable performance, showcasing an impressive range throughout her character's transition, making Angela’s journey seem all too real. Jay Disney, too, paints an uncomfortable but accurate picture of corporate patriarchs who usually run the show.

"Broken Ceiling," in essence, is a pressure-cooker narrative where the tension isn't just between its characters trapped in a room but also between egos, biases, and societal norms that are hauntingly familiar. It’s a story about quiet resilience, gathering storms, and the insidious horror of everyday sexism in the workplace, showcasing how continual underestimation can lead to a spectacular reckoning that no one saw coming.

A must-watch for those interested in psychological thrillers with a strong sociological commentary, "Broken Ceiling" undoubtedly adds a distinctive layer to the narrative of gender dynamics in films. It's an articulate and well-drafted wake-up call screaming that change in workplace gender dynamics isn't just necessary; it's imminent.