In "Up on the Glass," an all-pervasive loneliness is shared by people who believe they know each other, but in fact do not even know themselves. While the focal point is the evolving connection between Jack and Liz, all of the characters would appear to be so remote from one another that their emotional pain of isolation is palpable.
In the early part of the film, most of the dialogue is between the two friends, Jack DiMercurio and Andy Shelton, who almost seem like brothers. Since college, their lives have split off in different directions. Andy married Liz, who at one point appeared to be destined for a relationship with Jack. For his part, Jack is a loner who can't hold a job. Apparently, Jack also has a temper for he was fired from his last construction job for assaulting his boss.
After a dustup between Andy and his alcoholic friend Moze, Andy and Jack are left alone to battle one another like Cain and Abel. Andy is the aggressor, constantly jabbing at Jack. While Andy has been a successful and ruthless businessman, Jack is the introvert who is unwilling to take the kind of risks that Andy craves. Inevitably, their differences surface, with Andy especially resentful of Jack's superior intellect. In a struggle on the beach, Andy pins Jack to the ground, punching him mercilessly. In defense, Jack grabs a log and strikes an unintentional death blow to the head of Andy. While not justifiable homicide, the killing was clearly manslaughter.
At this point in the film, Jack renews his association with Liz, who claims that her marriage is over to the philanderer Andy. And yet, she is troubled that his wedding ring has been left behind. She knows that two women had spent the night in the Shelton home, and she knows that Jack is withholding information about the whereabouts of Andy.
Two of the most interesting characters in the film were the two local women, Becca and Kate. Again, the women exude an unbearable loneliness. When they join Andy and Jack at the beach house, Andy and Becca have sex in the bedroom. But Jack and Kate fall asleep on the couch in the living room. As she is leaving the next morning, Kate says to Jack in the most mournful tone imaginable, "Thank you."
Jack has done a sloppy job in covering his tracks. Bob, the local chairman of the homeowners association, has witnessed Jack bundling up a large object on the beach. Andy's car and body will eventually be discovered with Jack's DNA.
As he steadfastly refuses to tell the truth to Liz and is starring across Lake Michigan, Jack has to feel like the loneliest soul on the planet. This was a perfect film concept for the year of COVID.
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