From Omeleto.

A burglar gives advice.

NIGHT SESSION is used with permission from Ballard C. Boyd. Learn more at https://ballardcboyd.com.

A burglar is breaking into a well-appointed New York City apartment at night. He creeps in as stealthily as he can, taking in all the fine possessions of the home, but he startles when he discovers the homeowner sitting on a sofa in the dark.

But the homeowner is unexpectedly okay with being robbed. The homeowner’s wife is divorcing him, and he’s losing half of everything anyway. He even helps the burglar rob his own apartment as they chat, and as the two men work together, their conversation turns into a makeshift therapy session, helping the homeowner process the impending divorce.

Directed by Ballard C. Boyd from a script co-written by David Bizzaro, this witty and wise short comedy is a paean to unexpected connection and finding common ground in the unlikeliest of places. In the tradition of sophisticated urban comedies that often sparkle with witty dialogue and understated, character-based humor, the storytelling takes pleasure in bringing together two unexpected characters in strange, even challenging circumstances and seeing what happens. What emerges is a sly, smart and unexpectedly warmhearted story of two people helping one another when they both need it most.

The story opens with a brisk, economical sequence of a man breaking into a darkened apartment, ending when the robber discovers the homeowner sitting in the dark. The homeowner’s distracted, nonplussed reaction is played for laughs, setting up the film’s modus operandi. But the homeowner has an explanation for his indifference to the home invasion: he’s going to lose many of his belongings, and perhaps even his home, with his impending divorce.

As the robber gamely continues to rob the apartment, he chats amiably with the homeowner, and what begins perhaps as a gambit of distraction becomes a genuine curiosity and compassion for the homeowner’s crisis, as he dwells upon being blindsided by his divorce. As he tells his story, the homeowner helpfully assists the burglar in robbing the home, helping him assess the monetary value of his valuables and offering suggestions of other objects he might want. It’s very funny, but it also hints at a perhaps too-accommodating nature that stifled him to his own needs and wants in the relationship, grounding the humor in character and circumstance all the while.

Like the films of Noah Baumbach and Whit Stillman, the storytelling eschews flashy camerawork and gleamingly polished cinematography for a more naturalistic approach that allows for excellent writing and performances to come to the fore. Many will recognize beloved veteran character Richard Kind as the homeowner, and like many of his most recognizable roles, he finds both thorny truth and comedy in his character’s neuroticism. As the burglar, actor Joe Miles plays off Kind well, hinting at his foibles while giving the homeowner surprising insight and empathy. The homeowner may be losing his valuables, but with the burglar’s help, he gains acceptance and understanding.

Entertaining, funny and ultimately endearing, NIGHT SESSION balances warm emotional intelligence with understatedly mischievous wit. Being a comedy, it has a few other tricks in its storyline as two police officers enter the narrative. But even those wrinkles turn into opportunties for congenial comedy, underscoring how much we have in common with our fellow humans. Despite our differences in station, status and situation, we all make mistakes in our relationships — and we all can learn and grow from them, with a little help from sometimes unexpected friendships.