Yes, Darren covered this, but sometimes we can’t resist duplicate content. Either way, I felt I should talk a little about it myself because I really enjoyed it. Even if it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. This tells the story of a little girl who lives with different people throughout her life, sometimes people end up living with their grandparents because of some issue regarding their parents. I know a few people in that case (maybe a little TOO personally). Some people live with another kind of legal guardian. I mean, I may have thought of adopting once (too off-topic for here) but the important matter is whatever environment they’re raised in, they have good morals. They at least know what to do. Such as in this story.
When Emma’s (Audrey Grace Marshall) grandfather (Wayne Shearer) dies, she meets her mother Jessie (Dominique Johnson) at a funeral who brings her back home. Somehow coping with death and living in a home she hasn’t been to in years is difficult for Emma and she ends up spending her days (for now) with Jessie at her day job a local gas station. During then, Jessie works as a cashier and gets hit on by the usual sad excuse of a flirty fella. Later on that day, they go out on a frozen pond to relax and bond. Despite their differences and their new adjustments to life, they seem to get along well with each other. One lazy day, Emma decides to go exploring the wood around their home and see what she can find. A long time later, Emma meets Jessie’s ex-boyfriend Rick (Holter Graham) and tells her Jessie hasn’t woken up all day. It just so happens Jessie is on the verge of death and so Emma has to find another new home to live in. Before that, we get treated to a flashback of happier times. It turns out Jessie and Emma met before and spent some quality time together for one night. We also see Jessie and Rick go a long way back themselves. Jessie always seems to have had a drug problem, which explains why Emma wasn’t always with her, and I mean REALLY. Speaking of living situations, Emma is now living with Rick sleeping on his couch, hanging out with his fellow low-lifes, and hoping for her mom to be okay. Of course, Emma isn’t raised in the most child-friendly environment and ends up living with her biological father Lonnie (Kevin Loreque) and his mother. Emma also goes to Catholic church and ends up going to school where she befriends a little muslim boy (Sina Rassi). Sadly, it seems while Jessie somewhat recovered, she could never be the same again. Some time later, as Lonnie walks Emma to school she learns a little more about what happened while she was growing up as he went out to war in Vietnam. Later on that day, Emma loses her temper as she ends up punching a bully in the face. With nowhere to really go for true guidance, Emma goes to the same church as Lonnie’s mother where she cleans up the building as part of her punishment. The priest later listens to her confession and gives her a lecture on how to repent her sins. During the movie, we are treated to a couple more flashbacks in the days of when things were kind of the same when Emma stayed with Jessie. Finally after one particular night, Lonnie finally goes off his head from PTSD and Emma escapes into the woods for safety while Lonnie’s mother and Rick help him calm down. While Emma is in the most intense of situations, she prays to God with a fair amount of Hail Mary’s (Whoa, flashbacks of childhood) in hopes that she and everyone will be safe. But once it’s over, there’s no telling if it’s really over. In fact, things could get worse for anyone involved with her.
The film is intense and chilling, showing how a child should never be raised yet somehow she maintains the strength and willpower to handle whatever is thrown at her. The lighting and colour scheme while plain gives a good dark feel the already darkish story. While the flashbacks can be a bit confusing, they’re a good way to tell some backstory and make sure you’re focused. The characters are interesting to watch and ultimately Audrey is what makes the movie all that impressive, because she’s not one of those little girls that’s all smiles and sunshine, but a strong-willed young lady who can prove herself worthy of any challenge even though she may sometimes take things too far. When you watch this film, you learn about freedom, life, and how to get through all kinds of hardships. A film about ageism, and how it shouldn’t be done, but it sure is interesting to see what would happen if it were like that. Sometimes I question my own…
