Illness affects more than just the body. In Stalactites, writer / director Alison Piper challenges the limits of empathy in her nuanced look at the human condition. The film is a tender glimpse into a marriage crumbling under the weight of terminal illness. Alan is a man failing to communicate with his sick wife as he struggles to reconcile his waning sexual attraction to her. The couple's relationship gently reveals itself in words unspoken and emotions suppressed. Alan is a deeply flawed but relatable character, caught up in a morally ambiguous situation where audiences are faced with the question: "What would you do?"
—Alison Piper