When some documentarians can only access low-quality footage they become upset. For “Secret Mall Apartment” director and editor Jeremy Workman, the opposite must have been true.
“Secret Mall Apartment” stitches together archival footage and interviews like many modern documentaries, but part of what makes it special is the archival footage itself. The eight artists who snuck a full secret apartment into a secret room of the Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island and lived there for the better part of the early 2000s already took it upon themselves to record their endeavors on small but weak cameras. When presenting this surreal, goofy footage to the world for the first time, Workman spared no effort to convey every bit of dorky humor, anti-establishment angst and frantic improvisation in chaotic situations that make up the millennial young adult experience.
The fact is that despite how funny it is in the moment, recordings of real interactions between young adults rarely transfer well to the big screen. Audiences may quickly get bored, or worse, get secondhand embarrassment. However, “Secret Mall Apartment” elicited no such reaction from my audience. Images of these artists lugging shelves and couches up precariously tall ladders as the blasting sounds of emergency exit alarms are callously ignored are very funny, and it is all thanks to the editing. Clearly much time went into selecting only the funniest moments from the archival footage, which even then was intercut with other visuals. This meant that the actual scenes of kids goofing around with low-res cameras were presented with comedic timing, often contrasting their wiser counterparts in the modern-day interviews. When no footage is available, the film shoots tongue-in-cheek dramatic reenactments in an earlier-established replication of the location. These moments were very unexpected, over-the top and probably the most beloved by my audience of the entire film.
The editing is not just humorous, it is also very functional. For a film based on a secret room in a complex mall, it is important to establish a strong sense of space. Other archival materials such as maps, exterior photos and promotional footage have been highlighted, zoomed in on, and drawn over to create handy visual aids to help the audience understand the sense of place required to feel the dramatic weight of the story. Watching this humble little hole in the concrete structure slowly become a home is amplified by a clear presentation of the logistical information: the how, what and where.
Another place where the editing shines is with the film’s themes. The limited availability of interesting clips in the mall are interspersed with sequences that detail the culture of the city, the types of art that these people create and further visualization of the mall itself. These sequences make the audience reconsider the meaning behind the mall apartment. The project’s ringleader Michael Townsend is a tape artist, meaning that he uses masking tape to draw striking silhouettes in what are often public places. Carefully-selected shots of his other work highlights two important themes: his art is nestled in giant concrete monuments to industry, and it is impermanent. When the film cuts back to the mall, the similarities speak for themselves. This brilliant decision ensures that the film is never unengaging and always relevant. “Secret Mall Apartment” is a testament to the power of editing in documentaries and its ability to contribute to emotional appeal, themes and excellent comedy.
Down two theaters and about 30 movies, viewers may assume that the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival would be weaker this year, and they would be wrong. This year I saw seven films, each ripe for discussion regarding a different element of filmmaking. To analyze each film’s strength I will offer seven separate analyses.
(Image courtesy of Milwaukee Film.)
The West Bend Current 
Leave a comment