WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
In any myriad of ways, that which we gravitate towards ultimately tends to DEFINE who we are. At least, that is often the case. From the most impressionable of time periods–our childhood–onwards to when we are grown up, all that we’ve chosen to embrace and place our time into drives us forward, ideally, into those aspects of life that remain deeply fulfilling. BUT, when obstacles arise which seem to come from good intentions yet deviate into the arena of deterring us from becoming the individual we’re striving to be, how we either combat it or otherwise allow it to dominate and cripple us within will end up truly revealing how we might turn out. Twelve year-old Ashley (voiced by Erin Neil) has this precise scenario to contend with. She fully embraces who she WANTS to be, but finds mountains (and perhaps even monsters) must be moved when her doting but firmly-ingrained-in-her-ways Mom (voiced by Emily Henney) causes Ashley to battle against forces that are dictating who her Mom, and perhaps the world, believes she SHOULD be.
Next, my Mind:
Make no mistake here, folks, in that just because this is an animated short film project doesn’t equal “ONLY for children”. It becomes clearly evident throughout the course of the effort’s 7-minute runtime that the audience being addressed covers BOTH the youthful AND adult mindsets with a almost unexpectedly raw, candid, fully eloquent yet weighty relevancy we ALL need to take heed of and, frankly, do better at embracing. With its deft mix of nicely uncomplicated, vibrantly impactful, smoothly executed imagery and a tone that carries an air of dramatic urgency paired with minor forays into a more lightly ominous degree of imaginatively metaphorical potency, we are entreated to a societal portrait of seeking self-identity we can relate to all too well, and it reminds us of just how important it is that issues such as this ARE brought to light and dealt with in a manner that doesn’t see further disconnection or separation between people, but instead a deeper bond founded on patience, understanding, and love. The film recently had a screening as part of the prestigious 2023 HollyShorts Film Festival and is now a 2023 Oscar-qualifying short as well.
As is often the case with films dealing with the core theme presented, it is made that much more noteworthy via having the narrative told through the eyes of a child, in this case a 12-year old girl, who actually HAS a full grasp of how she wishes to be and yet finds herself under consistently disapproving scrutiny from her Mom, launching her into a state of being where she must grapple with parental expectations and her own inner storms in order to experience and gain the confidence she requires to stand up for who she is. How the film chooses to illustrate this young girl’s plight is wonderfully straightforward and evident from the start, with visuals that make it abundantly clear the dichotomy existing between the two people she currently sees in herself–one that she desires and the other that others are trying to mold her into. This atmosphere of building tension then explodes into a very creative sequence of events that showcases how this girl “sees” what she considers the antagonist to her identity aspirations.
It speaks to the innocent and fantastical outlook children demonstrate when dealing with any number of life situations they might find themselves at odds with, and it is this approach to bring that earnest, volatile perspective to bear in a way that emphatically makes the point and subsequently brings into play the film’s title to an equally adept, clever, and insightfully inspired way. As also hinted at above, the film isn’t shying away from portraying how kids encounter senses of fear, isolation, and emotionally overwhelming actualities yet it then rebounds by tempering it with one particularly key factor they seem to master even better than we do as adults–resilience. I felt it is THIS facet of the film that ends up manifesting the positive finale we get to enjoy and very astutely brings home the narrative’s ultimate intent with beautiful poignancy and applicability that I hope genuinely allows the messages conveyed here to SINK IN, take ROOT, and engender us to THINK more about the thematic paths the story has lead us down.
Voiceover is king when it comes to animated films, as expected, and so sometimes judging or expounding on the characters from a typical point of view can be a little more challenging when not seeing live actors embodying said characters we’re given to consider. This film is truly an exercise in more subtle voice acting to boot, only in that there is not necessarily that much dialogue to interpret or build from given the film’s purposefully visual-heavy format. Now mind you, this works WONDERS for what the film is choosing to deliver, since what we SEE is what really cements the narrative’s objectives in your mind. But, this stated, Neil does a fantastic job IN providing our lead character of Ashley with a completely endearing personality that wins you over to the character with utter ease and both entertaining and stirring resonance as we watch Ashley’s hard-fought, frustrating, yet ultimately decisive, rousing, and heartwarming victory to be WHO she is.
Interestingly enough, Neil also gives voice to another primary component/character in the film which I will simply say is also effectively presented and certainly adds the modicum of menace the story requires to guide home its focal points. Henney likewise brings that level of realistic credibility in voicing Ashley’s Mom, who dotes on her daughter with all affection and adoration yet finds herself at total odds with the direction Ashley wishes to pursue when it comes to being a “proper” young lady vs. what she sees as the unacceptable alternative. Yet, what will it take to wake Mom up to realize that as much as she might want to control how her daughter looks in her mind, it might be best to let Ashley figure it out on her own, and do it TOGETHER rather than being divided. So, in total, “Pivot” stands as a film that provides a welcome relief from some of the more “heavier” (but NO less important) efforts addressing self-identity themes, yet doing do without sacrificing the necessary, convincing, and still significant pertinency of the foundational statements it is aiming to shout out to the masses that we might ponder, absorb, and APPLY.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
