directed by:
Eve Leonard-Walsh written by: Eve Leonard-Walsh genre: Drama |
I love how this film opens up with its distorted imagery and out-of-focus shots. Messages before the credits even begin…you can see there's authentic art in the way that Eve Leonard-Walsh approaches her filmmaking right away. She'll go on to reveal even more in the scenes that instantly follow the title onscreen. A desolate and empty city, still showing tons of personality and character, just waiting for its people to return.
"Because We Are Too Many" was shot in Glasgow during the pandemic era, and you can immediately see how that plays a role through what Leonard-Walsh shows you onscreen, from the empty streets to people in masks to scenes that detail the struggle to get much-needed support during one of the world's most challenging times. While it was certainly no picnic for anyone, you can see that it certainly would have been harder on some, in particular the main character of Morgan, played by Leonard-Walsh herself, who is trying to raise her young autistic son Ronan (played by her real-life son, Ronin Leonard-Walsh) under these extraordinary circumstances. "Every day's just the same," she says with a resilient but weakened spirit that comes from a place of personal duress - but she knows she still has to keep going and continue forward because her little boy needs every ounce of strength she's got. You can see visible signs of how things have begun to unravel, like the chaotic state of the house & such, but I'm sure you can all appreciate and remember just how hard it was for any of us to hold things together during the lockdowns…and I bet you can fully understand how the circumstances of what Morgan faces would be that much tougher. "Most of the time, I feel like an animated corpse," she says in her mind while giving a social worker a completely different answer out loud in conversation. In many ways, a film like "Because We Are Too Many" directly shows us how the lockdowns ended up creating pockets of society that completely fell right through the cracks, all the while seeming to expect that the same kind of support could have carried on while the world shut down. Morgan herself seems to be drowning in despair as she does her best to be the parent her kid needs, and she's sliding into a depression of her own. Ronan is undoubtedly a lot to handle, even when he's in the greatest of moods. He operates at full strength whether he's happy or sad, and there's no question that it takes a ton of effort from Morgan to raise him. On a personal note, while I've had only a little bit of experience with autistic children, I do know what it's like to be in a family with a special needs child – my brother is challenged mentally, and he's always required specialized care and extra understanding from all of our family. Even during times that weren't pandemic-driven, the impact that that had on my mother - eventually broke her into a million dysfunctional pieces, never to be repaired. So believe me when I tell ya, I both sympathize and empathize with Morgan – she's got a very tough road ahead of her. You might argue that she has always had it tough. You'll see scenes with young Morgan as she grew up, in which she's played brilliantly by Eilidh Keane. Based on the school scenes that we see her in, I'd tell you that every kid in Glasgow has got their work cut out for them! Her teacher seemed a little less than kind, perhaps, but that could just be the cultural difference in Scotland versus the soft approach we tend to find in the educational system here in Canada. Six or one-half dozen of the other, I suppose, you get different results from different methods, and there is merit to be found in both. The teachers and administration seemed to feel like Morgan was destined to become a problem, and when you see the difficult circumstances she grew up in at home with fairly irresponsible parents, you know that things could have really worked out badly for her. Sometimes, having a child with challenges can be the blessing we need more than we realize - and help provide us purpose & meaning in our lives where it didn't exist prior. I know that looking out for my brother caused me to grow up quickly, but also responsibly and respectfully as well – I wouldn't be who I am today without him & I suspect the same is true of Morgan.
Sometimes we need to find and witness the strength & character of others in order to rise to our own potential. Meeting silent Mo at a runaway seemed to make a giant impact on Morgan's development as a child, who formed a friendship and trust with this kid she found in the forest and somehow knew he was the right kind of person to engage with. I like to think that there's a special light in the eyes of the people who can help us out there, but it also takes a special type of person to see it. You can see the connection these two children make together without the need for a single word, and it changes her. I also believe that Morgan's mom, much like my own, was simply doing the best with what she had. It likely wasn't enough, but it's what she could give without completely collapsing from the inside out. Where "Because We Are Too Many" genuinely excels is in the many strengths of the vision from its Writer/Director/Actor Eve Leonard-Walsh. By writing the script herself, you can see the connection she has to the material & her skill in knowing how to get the maximum amount of emotion into every scene of her movie. She's a genius behind the lens, and the way she's gone about shooting this film should be deserving of real accolades from peers, critics, and viewers alike. She found exceptional ways to frame each scene and the story she wanted to tell - so that "Because We Are Too Many" comes out with a real point of view and perspective to be proud of. Take the scenes with Mo (played perfectly by young Henry-Hilson Agbangbe), for example – his expressions say all the things that words never could. The casting was exceptional all-around, and with or without words, Leonard-Walsh gets the true maximum potential out of her actors and her script in every scene we experience. Pauline Campbell, who plays Morgan's mom, Angela, also deserves a serious shout-out for playing one of this movie's most complex characters so well, especially when she's onscreen with Keane, who has an amazing future ahead of her as an actor if she continues to excel at this spectacular level of the craft. The stunning potency of drama and its thought-provoking, evocative nature are on complete display through the expertise of its direction. We spend a great deal more time with the younger versions of Morgan so that we understand all that she has been through in order to become the unbreakable person she is today, even if that's only the way that we view her and she still struggles to see herself in the same light. As viewers, we know what she's had to endure, what she's had to adapt to, what she's had to survive, and how she's grown up. You can't help but respect the person she's become after all that she's been through, truly. While we know that she's been knocked down several times along the way, sometimes by others, sometimes in her own self-imposed ways – she's always managed to get back up, carry on, and still continue forward. "Because We Are Too Many" has no problem getting into the darkness of troubled youth and family life, but that's where you see Leonard-Walsh reveal her most brilliant moments as a filmmaker. She clearly knows how to convey pain - but also understands that it's equally crucial to highlight the lessons that can be learned from it, and kshe nows how to connect all that to show us how it all shapes us into who we are. Honestly, I loved this movie, and I don't know that there's much that could have been done any better than what we see – "Because We Are Too Many" gets a solid four and a half stars out of five from me for the stunning combination of insight & inspiration it conveys through this remarkably well-crafted story. |
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