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Country of Origin- United States
“Everything I Could” is a short drama based on a brief conversation between a father and his daughter unfolding different aspects of human emotions in a complex situation.
A father tries to manage his family that was shattered into pieces by a recent accident. The story unfolds that the damage was even deeper than he thought.
The film begins with a note of astonishment from the father for the unusual degradation in his daughter’s school report card. An apparently common issue to begin a father – daughter conversation that happens every now and then in almost every common household might bring a sort of predictability in the audience about the conclusion. The conversation takes some surprising elevation within a few seconds that makes one delve even deeper to seek immunity from this ever growing disease called mental illness.
The entire film offers us some Cut to Cut, OTS shots to provide it a visual structure. A form of narrative that naturally engages all the attention towards the Screenplay and the Actors. Although the dialogues almost fulfil the requirements of a father – daughter conversation sequence yet the use of a bit more misdirected dialogues or some sort of a modulated conversation could add more merit to the script.
Within a runtime of just 1min 22 seconds the film “Everything I Could” ventures way beyond a common father – daughter conversation. Certain issues like Trauma, depression once taken lightly or pushed aside by blaming others can cause humongous consequences not only for the deceased but for the others attached to them. The film however with a fascinating abrupt ending to the conversation delivers a simple road map that might begin with a little attention or maybe with a few failed conversations.
COUNTRY United States
REVIEWED BY Abhijan Basu (Honorable Jury, INDIA)
WUIFF March-April SESSION 2022
WATCHOUT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Depression or any other serious mental illness is not only a source of pain for the patient. It can also be a burden on their family or caretakers. Often the caretakers of these patients build up a sort of frustration and resentment after years of coping with it. And even after taking all kinds of care and providing everything that they could, these family members lose everything, including the trust of their family. ‘Everything I Could’ shows the story of a man like this, who has been doing everything that he could for his wife and children for a long time. Yet he is being misunderstood and blamed after his wife left.
The substantial importance of maintaining mental health and stability is quite well-known in the current times. The sanity of family members often needs to be maintained at huge costs. And yet, the blame falls onthe caretakers if they fail. Within a short span of one-and half minutes, ‘Everything I Could’ succeeds in showing this blatant andcruel reality.
The microfilm shows the perspective of a father who is getting blamed by his daughter for his wife’s passing. He earnestly tries to explain to her that he had done everything, taken every step that hecould to ensure the well-being of his family, and yet failed. But the daughter is unmoved. The helplessness of a father who is handling the grief of his wife and the accusations by his daughter, is portrayed heart-wrenchingly.
The viewers are reminded of the harsh reality of our times, where deteriorating mental health is snatching away hundreds of lives, and breaking people and families.
Actor Ben Cable, who plays the protagonist of this microfilm, has given a stellar performance and driven home the point of the film within a very short time with his outstanding acting capabilities. He has single handedly elevated the film and succeeded in showing this complicated character of a father, within such a short time. Ben tackles the role of a father who loses his wife and gets blamed by his family with excellence and empathy.
‘Everything I Could’ throws a lot of questions at us and makes us think. The film is a social commentary on the alarming rate of increase in mental illnesses, and how so many families suffer because of it. The realistic humaneness of the film shows an honest effort from the filmmakers in narrating an uncomfortable reality, which we are enduring every day.
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