Vague Visages’ The Heirloom review contains minor spoilers. Ben Petrie’s 2024 movie features himself, Grace Glowicki and Matt Johnson. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

When the world shut down in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, cinema used our tenuous new lifestyle to create a unique subgenre of its own, inserting new themes of isolation and forced lockdowns into established genres. These real-life circumstances lent intrigue to mysteries like Glass Onion (2022), where the wealthy seclude themselves on a tropical island to enjoy their quarantine. Unable to film on a traditional set, some directors got creative. Rob Savage made the horror film Host (2020), which stages a frightening séance over Zoom, leaving audiences even more frightened for the characters since they are truly alone and watch each other die over the computer. The COVID lockdowns served as a fitting backdrop for romantic dramas such as Together (2021), in which couples forced to co-exist 24/7 find long-simmering tensions bubbling to the surface. On the lighter side, a sweet meet-cute unfolds in Natalie Morales’ Language Lessons (2021) (starring and co-written by indie actor/filmmaker Mark Duplass), where a romantic connection develops during Zoom-based Spanish lessons. In the present, Ben Petrie’sThe Heirloom is reminiscent of the Duplass aesthetic, with its lo-fi visuals and subtle, idiosyncratic humor. 

While many films use COVID-19 and the lockdown as little more than a gimmick, Petrie — who also wrote, edited and produced The Heirloom — employs it to expose moments of self-reflection and personal revelation that individuals and couples experience when forced inside their homes for such an extended period. Free from the hustle and grind of commuting or traditional work during the COVID-19 pandemic, many dove into creative projects they never had the time for. Others stewed over where their lives stood and what had led them there — especially when any future plans seemed derailed by the current uncertainty.

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The beginning of The Heirloom captures the pervasive boredom during quarantine that we all can identify with. Eric (Petrie), an aspiring filmmaker, goofs off with his girlfriend Allie, who twerks for his camera. Allie is played by Petrie’s real-life creative and romantic partner, Grace Glowicki, who has an offbeat, mumblecore quality reminiscent of Greta Gerwig. The apartment that the leads perform in is filled with their own furniture, and these meta-textures that shape The Heirloom, which bills itself as a true story, become even more tangled when the narrative transforms into a film-within-a-film. Eric abandons the project he’s been working on for five years to make a movie about their newly adopted dog, Milly, which he wants to act as their own family heirloom. And he also tries to get Allie excited about something other than watching her old home movies, as COVID-19 has her stuck reminiscing about better days.

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Petrie introduces these meta elements subtly in The Heirloom, sometimes to the point of confusion, as the lines between reality and fiction blur, much like two different watercolors blending together on paper — it’s impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. In one scene, Allie enthusiastically declares into the camera lens that Millie has successfully peed, varying her level of excitement and emphasis on different words, like an actor trying on different line readings for size. During another sequence, a boom mic operator crosses in the middle of the couple’s intense argument delivered in flat, eerily calm voices. 

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Adopting a dog became one of the most popular activities during the COVID-10 lockdown, as people finally had the time and energy to care for a pet while also seeking companionship in their solitude. Petrie and Glowicki’s own dog, Cheers, stars as Milly, a skinny, sappy-eyed whippet rescue from the Dominican Republic. Slow-motion shots capture her cautious gaze and darting movements from her level, and the pet’s anxious energy perfectly matches her over-the-top, doting owners. As is often the case with dogs in films, Milly steals the spotlight. But while the dog is easy to love, it’s difficult to connect with both Petrie and Glowicki’s characters; Eric’s shit-eating grin and defensiveness is frustrating, while Allie is an emotional flatline. 

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The Heirloom features an intriguing sonic landscape. Eric and Allie’s dialogue has little realism, sounding more like passive-aggressive therapy-speak as they gently parent each other through their feelings while trying to navigate their relationship and care for another living creature. Rather than having a baby, Milly serves as their test drive. Eric and Allie don’t talk over one another, but their responses are quick enough to suggest they’re not truly listening. Casey Manierka-Quaile’s score stands out with its lilting rhythms, blending kooky theremin sounds and melodramatic stingers to make every moment with Milly feel momentous. Visually, The Heirloom is more confined, as cinematographer Kelly Jeffrey uses a 4:3 aspect ratio to evoke the claustrophobia of lockdown life and the pressures Allie and Eric face with Milly, each other and their ambitions.

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Pet parents will appreciate The Heirloom the most, as there’s a lot of relatable humor in the scenes of monitoring Millie’s poop, anxieties over changing her food and emotional trips to the emergency room. The film introduces deeper existential questions in its final act, specifically in regard to Allie’s perspective as a woman, yet the meandering nature prevents them from landing with real impact. The Heirloom doesn’t follow a conventional climactic structure, and its brittle, dry humor and abstract tone may not appeal to everyone. However, Petrie’s inventive vision is admirable, and it captures a very specific millennial anxiety that few films do.

The Heirloom released theatrically at the Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn, New York on  March 21, 2025.

Caroline Madden (@crolinss) is the author of Springsteen as Soundtrack. She’s also a film critic who has written for Screen Queens, Reverse Shot, IndieWire and more. Caroline is the editor-in-chief of Video Librarian. Thank you for reading film criticism, movie reviews and film reviews at Vague Visages.

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