directed by:
Ryan Nunes, Sean Campbell written by: Ryan Nunes, Julien Elliot genre: Drama |
Interesting stuff. Genuinely thought-provoking subject matter & script from writers Ryan Nunes & Julien Elliot…I truly enjoyed mulling this one over as I watched “DROWNED.” We follow a tough family drama that centers on both Emma, the young child, and her mother, Sarah. You can feel the walls closing in right from the moment it starts, and it feels like no matter which way you turn your head, someone isn’t quite doing as much as they should be. As with most things children-related, the weight seems to fall the hardest on Sarah, who is still battling the effects of separating from Jake, the father, and she’s put herself at risk of losing custody of Emma as a result of her actions, whether or not they’re by choice.
That’s where things get extremely interesting to me. The basic gist of the plot for “DROWNED” would be an examination of the differences between being unfit and being unwell. In many ways, that’s clearly an important distinction to be making when dealing with a child’s well-being and care. In other words, it’s really hard to know where to draw the line, specifically. At what point does being unwell become being unfit? Can you be unwell on a temporary basis that’s short enough not be considered unfit? What if those short moments of being unwell are so frequent that a little becomes a lot - would that then be termed unwell? As a child of someone with mental illnesses myself…a mother who was very much constantly overwhelmed and on a variety of medications as I grew up…I’ll be honest with you and say that I went into watching “DROWNED” not feeling like there’s much of a distinction between unfit and unwell whatsoever, because the unwell things I experienced were so constant that she was clearly unfit. No matter how small the small things might be, when you stack them all together, it’s a big f**kin’ deal. Where things become more complicated is with the whole “well-being” of a person. Not just Emma in a situation like this, but also with Jake, and Sarah herself, too. Obviously, Emma depends on her parents for so many things, from basic necessities like food to important stuff like medicine. Jake needs his former partner to be stable enough to trust her. Regardless of whether or not they’re living together, they’re still co-parenting a human being…and you really need to know the other has their priorities straight in that respect. Sarah is the toughest of them all because she seems like she’s at a place where she doesn’t even know if she can trust herself, yet she’s ready to lash out at anyone else who might insinuate such a thing or suggest that she might need some help. No one wants to feel like they’re failing constantly, and unfortunately, life keeps on going, surrounding us all… we very rarely get to have a full reset where someone isn’t still viewing us through the same lens they used to. Real talk - Sarah’s f**king up, and it’s at the point where she’s putting the people she loves in danger. Emma is confused. Jake is mad. Her sister is breaking while trying to be the good guy in all this. Everyone is trying in their own way, but they’re still continually falling short of what’s required of them. “I’m not saying she’s perfect, but she’s fighting to be better.” That’s a powerful line, and it’s something to consider, at least to a degree. I have sympathy, and I have empathy for someone in Sarah’s position, but at the same time, even I feel like there’s more of a responsibility to the well-being of a child than what we’re seeing from her here…and so yeah, that takes being unwell into being unfit, in my opinion. How much time can we afford to give someone to work on themselves, when a child needs you RIGHT NOW? Conversely, to be fair, you can’t just go around yoinking kids away from their parents, because everybody goes through some shit sometimes, you know what I mean? There has to be some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, though…if there’s not, then everybody’s basically stuck in the dark, and it becomes extremely tough to figure out what the best direction would be to proceed. There’s really no way to win in a struggle, as you’ll see in “DROWNED,” where even if Jake were to pursue full custody and take Emma away from Sarah for her safety, that might not end up being how Emma would see it at all.
How many points do you get for trying? This is a very black & white world when it comes to the issues surrounding child safety. As much as I might want to see Sarah get the help she so sincerely needs, I don’t know that I’m comfortable with the idea that young Emma has to just right this out while she does - because what IF her mom doesn’t get better? I’ll tell you right now that mine didn’t - she got WORSE. The scene between Jake and Sarah towards the end of this film is extremely moving and a wonderful addition to what we see in “DROWNED.” They finally manage to drop their anger for a moment, focus on what’s important, and essentially apologize to each other for making life harder than it should have been for too many years now. Obviously, it doesn’t make up for all the wasted time they’ve created while their kid has been growing up, but it IS a start, and this broken family really does need that reset. Acknowledging each other’s pain, encouraging their efforts, trying to see things from the other side - these are essential ingredients to a healthy relationship of any kind, and without them, we’d all be lost. So let’s see here. I think the main question we’re left with at the end of “DROWNED” is whether or not anything we’ve seen is enough. I like where it’s going, and I like how directors Nunes/Campbell show us a lot of the emotion that’s required for a story like this, but at the same time, it never really felt like it was able to decide on what side the film was on, and kind of arguably plays it safe down the middle of the road as not to offend anyone. Well…I’m offended by that choice! Okay, maybe that’s a harsh way to put it, but I did find myself wanting “DROWNED” to take a more definitive stance on what is right and what is wrong. Maybe that’s the real key to understanding something like this (along with my own childhood) - maybe there simply is no right or wrong. Maybe there’s only acceptance & that’s all there ever is. Maybe we just have to recognize that everyone’s trying to the best of their abilities and that’s all we can ever do. Maybe. It’s so tough to say what the right course of action is when kids are involved. I think we have to err on the side of caution, don’t we? That’s gotta be the lesser risk in this scenario. In any event, Nunes/Campbell put the information out there in a way that allows you to interpret (or end up projecting in my case) and consider what we think is the most important direction to go, and even though I might have wanted more of a definitive path, I appreciate the freedom to think about a story like this from the many different angles that they show you as “DROWNED” moves from start to finish. Acting-wise, I’m happy with it…it’s a small but solid cast with no real issues I could see. Directing-wise, it’s a Drama, so there’s not a whole lot of “fancy” filmmaking needed, save for some good direction to the cast. Story-wise, I think that’s where “DROWNED” excels and scores the most points for me. I don’t know that there IS an answer to the questions they’re putting to you in this film, so much as they have chosen to document the struggle that many have gone through and illuminate one potential path forward that might work out in the long run. Patience is always required in life, and “DROWNED” will definitely emphasize how important that truly is. I’m going with four stars out of five here. |
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