WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
When we are making a decision to give of ourselves selflessly and fully to others, much less (as it should be overall) for their benefit without thought of getting anything in return, it turns into one of the most puissant forces to deal with. As time passes and we begin to realize our OWN needs and desires to be noticed, loved, accepted, and cared about, what steps do we pursue to ensure our own well-being while still providing compassion and comfort TO the others we tend to? This is all amplified to the “nth” degree for a professional named Kacie (Michelle Mao) whose entire current career is simply BEING “that special person” to clients (platonically, mind you) who hire from the company she works for. But, is all the fulfillment of these individual’s needs taking a higher toll on her sense of self than Kacie shows?
Next, my Mind:
The second of four Oscar qualifying indie short films from award-winning production house Hillman Grad this critic is covering that were worked in conjunction with 271 Films and the awesomely conceived (and NEEDED!) “Rising Voices” initiative from Indeed Films, this nineteen and half minute project from writer/director Hannah Bang, producers Trent Nakamura and Jera Wang, plus executive producers Constanza Castro, Domenica Castro, Naomi Funabashi, Rishi Rajani, and Lena Waithe takes us on a definitively unique and honestly unsettling journey into the concepts of loneliness, the desire for being needed, the potential consequences of being there for others but not truly for yourself, and having to face the reality of it all that could then prove just as “surface” as what we give out. In this day and age where COVID-19-induced isolation caused a new resurgence in mental and emotional health issues, this film is timely and all-too-real in its necessary relevancy.
Portraying a somewhat “futuristic” world where the needs of individuals on a myriad of levels have the option to be met through wholly idealistic and non-physical, innocently noncommittal means via hiring someone from a company whose employees fulfill said needs, the focus here centers on a specific employee whose unanticipated encounter with one of her regular clients outside of normal parameters throws her entire notion of what she does and who she is into chaos, all while confronting realizations and the revelations she now must face and/or are exposed in light of it. From this point, the film’s thematic forays into work vs. personal life separation, our habit of holding in the struggles we have instead of releasing them, hiding our own needs for the sake of what we feel should solely be the wellbeing of others first, and the sheer emotional toll and mental exhaustion that can be born in doing so to an extreme magnitude all get screen time to deeply purposeful and unnerving effect given the candid, raw state of being the film’s unfolding premise really does deliver.
The very thought of random acts of kindness towards others, like it really should be when it comes to our foundational interactions as fellow human beings, gets taken to such an evocatively stirring yet unequivocally haunting place here that it really is the style of narrative which should therefore prompt us to pause and reassess our own behavior coming out of it. Even IF on a smaller scale than is being shown in the film, it still reminds us that when it seems to easy to give to others in order to avoid seeming self-centered, it should NOT come at the cost OF what we likewise require to feel wanted, important, loved, noticed, acknowledged, etc, only it that we ALL deserve that rather than selling ourselves short or otherwise ONLY showing others that they are special and worth being around, supporting, and being attached to. The balance of that is what we need, and how this film chooses to present this journey is just amazing and filled with blunt truths we can actually take to heart ideally.
This especially comes to bear in a finale that strikes your soul and mind with a vengeance given what has been established in the narrative prior, and it only places that emphatic exclamation point on events with a fury that burns the film’s messages even more deeply into your conscious. Mao is a portrait of calm routine, ingrained resolve, personal disassociation, but then awakened uncertainty and questioning through her role here as Kacie, a young woman working for a corporation that hires its employees out as platonic companions for others who require it, taking care of them in different ways that satisfy their specific needs for that connection. But, when one of Kacie’s consistent clients runs into her outside of one of their “sessions”, it sparks a whole new reality to her individual outlook on life, leading to self re-assessment, eruptive release, and a startling reveal that showcases just how overtly her job has impacted her own identity and views of her own wants.
I found it to be a superb performance Mao delivers in once more seeing a character having to travel through such flagrant shifts in moods and circumstances, doing so with controlled and believable energy that makes you FEEL what Kacie is experiencing. This of course is a credit to Mao’s performance and acting talent. Primary supporting roles are present through Matt McGorry as Michael, one of Kacie’s most consistent clients who ends up becoming a catalyst for her to have to take the opportunity to evaluate all she’s doing, who she is, and what she wants when they have a chance run-in outside of their usual scheduled “sessions” and Yvette Lu as Erica, Kacie’s roommate who offers her the chance to have some semblance of normalcy in the midst of a life and job helping others be happy in theirs.
Additional appearances are made by Elise Arndt, Nic Caruccio, Hidetoshi Imura, Michael James Wong, Jade Jones, Jera Wang, Madelyn Levine, Naiya Armour, Trent Nakamura, and Yoona Yiqian Wang. So, in total, “My Nights Glow Yellow” paints its picture of fundamental human needs on a tapestry of both cold corporate arrangement and transparently accessible desire to be there for one another, doing so in order to illustrate how much we genuinely wish those meaningful connections to aid in discovering that we ARE valuable and seen. But, it is also a cautionary tale of just how much we can try and bury our own yearnings for the sake of others to a fault, as while it is more than ok to GIVE to others through absolute compassion, decency, and self-sacrifice, it’s ALSO ok to have the hope of GETTING that for YOU as well. I said it above–we ALL deserve it. Now, let’s practice it.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
