While many may know him as the lead on the CW series Roswell, New Mexico, Michael Vlamis has always been shooting and writing his own films. This full-length debut, which he also stars in and co-wrote, is something else—something that comes from real pain. As he told Deadline, “I’m interested in exploring the guilt and grief that haunted me following a tragic accident I experienced a few years back. If you don’t try to face your feelings, they’ll eventually consume you.”

Tessa (Aurora Perrineau) and James (Vlamis) came together over the crossword. They challenged each other with it. They raced to see who could do it first. Even their wedding proposal was inside one. They had a daughter, Lily, who died in a drowning accident, and since then, their lives have changed. She’s become a famous writer of children’s books, starting with Lily Learns. He’s retreated into…mostly grief. She suggests he get back to the crossword as part of his therapy.

The clues for each day seem way too close to his life. Every coincidence can’t be one. A boorish houseguest playing hide-and-seek gives way to James having an emotional outburst. He starts to believe that maybe Tessa now has everything she wants. Could she have watched their daughter die? Or was it because he was more concerned with his crossword and not watching her in the pool?

Every frame of this drips with grief and hard work. Harvey Guillén from What We Do In the Shadows shines in a small role as a magazine interviewer who has no warning that he’s stepped into a house filled with conflict. Both leads shine and play off each other so well. And yet while the ambiguous ending may frustrate some, I’m not sure it could end any other way.

You can watch this and many other films at CFF by buying a pass on their website. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting reviews and articles and updating my Letterboxd list of watches.