(Credit: Canva Pro)

Curiosity may have taken feline lives, but sometimes it keeps you very much alive and uncovers a hidden gem. On Netflix, that gem is 2017’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, and the year may make it feel like it’s from a world away, like its name, it’s worth investigating.

It is not your typical indie crime flick or another forgettable addition to the endless scroll-a-thon. This is a film that grabs you by the collar, shakes you awake, and makes you laugh at the sheer absurdity of the mess humans create.

The story follows Ruth, played by Melanie Lynskey, who is having one of those straw that broke the camel’s back moments. Life has worn her down, completely. She is surrounded by rude people and inconsiderate neighbours, and at the end of the day, she sleeps with the singular realisation that the world seemingly runs on selfishness.

And it is in this cold realisation the twist is bloomed, where Ruth’s house gets robbed. For most people, that would mean filing a police report and waiting. But Ruth decides she has had enough of being walked over. You know how every now and then, we all have that surge of main character energy? Ruth was more than primed for the driver’s seat.

While she is dealing with everything, her neighbour Tony enters her life, played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe look-alike, Elijah Wood, in one of his most delightfully odd roles. Forget Middle-earth; here, Wood is a nunchuck-wielding, socially awkward misfit who becomes Ruth’s unlikely partner-in-crime.

Together, they set out to track down her stolen belongings. It sounds straightforward at first, after a while, they find themselves tangled with lowlifes, dangerous criminals, and escalating situations spiralling way out of control, casting them further astray.

The magic of this film lies in the unique tonal balance it masterfully toes, such that you park it under part dark comedy, part crime thriller, and part existential rant about how exhausting it is to live in a world where people constantly let you down. This experimental movie does not care about playing safe or fitting neatly into one box; it seeks to break so far out that it is as darkly funny as it is uncomfortable.

It is violent without warning and touching when least expected, all of which stays with you long after the credits roll. How often do you watch a movie and immediately feel like recommending it to someone just so you can talk about it? This is one of those.

So the next time you are staring down the hole of endless scroll, do not shed sand debating. Skip the comfort rewatch and take a chance on this. I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore is the only movie you need to prove that sometimes the underdog story is the more entertaining one.