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First, the Recap:
Ignorance is bliss….or so they say. As people, it feels safe to state we pride ourselves more often than not on those things we believe we have a comprehensive grasp of. Otherwise, assuming we’re willing to even admit it, anything we DON’T we tend to dismiss as unimportant or simply not worth learning about, especially when the subject isn’t exactly commonplace, or even “proper” to discuss. Then again, maybe it SHOULD be. For the beautiful Estrogenia (Julia Aks) and her dashing suitor Mr. Dickley (Ta’imua), it is a day of rejoicing in his officially proposing to her. But, when the sight of blood on the front of his fair maiden’s dress sparks an entire storm of misunderstanding as to what has caused it, it will cast a light (and doubts??) on what the couple’s future may or may not hold, yet also reveal a distinct lack of knowledge that desperately needs to be amended.
Next, my Mind:
The comical meets the practical, the “taboo” meets what’s natural, the gender gap yawns blatantly wide, and the legitimate necessity of being more open to better education and its (ideally!) accompanying wisdom flows freely through this intelligently crafted and fantastically brilliant 13-minute short film from co-writers/co-directors/co-editors Julia Aks and Steve Pinder plus producer Elli Legerski that recently had its in person and online screenings as part of the 48th Cleveland International Film Festival where it took home a perfectly WELL-DESERVED Audience Choice Award for Best Short. This critic recalls covering a highly sobering short film titled “Spotless” (the review is here) back in November of 2022, which was an Oscar qualifier, addressing this overall issue, but from a far more serious, slightly different, also fully relevant angle. Here, it’s intermixed with plays on societal convention, bungled (but still well-meaning) chivalry, mood swings, the pain and messiness involved, women’s rights, and ingrained indifference to what should NOT be some “forbidden” thing.
With this new take on the subject of menstruation (OH NO!!! I’m a GUY and I just invoked the “M” word!! Guards!! Guards!!), which is beautifully conveyed through everything from the film’s witty play-on-words title, to the wonderfully satiric character names themselves, to the spot on music and setting of the era and author it pays tribute to, this remains just as compelling in its comedic leanings as it does in the underlying, ultimately defining, awareness-raising potency of something apparently considered as “that which shall not be spoken of”. Folks, a woman’s period (OH MAN!! I referenced it AGAIN!! Will I end up with pillory time or hanged for this??) is a FACT OF LIFE, and one that has not been remotely treated with the actual due respect it warrants, more so with patriarchal mindsets still attempting to maintain their ugly hold over all the realms. Scoff if you wish, dear lords, but the time has come to admit our faults in acumen, shape up, and LISTEN. Add to this the film’s equally exceptional finale and it’s a true short film masterwork worthy of the kingdom.
The narrative cascades forth, unabated, with a briskly purposeful pace and intentionally blunt, astutely written wealth of whimsey that showcases itself utilizing farce, satire, physical humor, and just plain silliness as it portrays the hilariously exasperating journey one woman must endure to reveal, via the just previously hinted at rawness, the realities of what experiencing a period is (aka: NOT FUN!) to her initially not-quite-all-there hubby-to-be and the subsequent reactions to it all that go rippling through a shocked household. The humor is overtly conspicuous throughout the tale, and that suits things just fine, allowing the viewer (or at least THIS critic for SURE!) to be laughing out loud the entire runtime at the degrees of absurdity being delivered. BUT, what also does the film total credit, is that it IS on, at minimum, core level, a totally pertinent, wholly teachable moments-filled, (sadly) indispensable adventure that gets its foundational messages across with point blank accuracy. Um..PERIOD! (OH MAN!! AGAIN?! Here come the subalterns with pistols! Cue **footfalls** and my running away post haste!).
The actualities of “that time of the month” (YIKES! A FOURTH time referenced?? OH, it’s ok, though! The guards haven’t caught me…yet) are REAL, people, and I applaud the filmmakers that this does NOT get at all lost in the hilarity we see and that it does elicit a sense of, I’ll say it, urgency for more informed enlightenment about it, “awkward” for us or not. Aks is a GEM here through her role as Estrogenia, an uncomplicated but noble woman whose longed-for moment of sheer adulation gets unceremoniously interrupted when an untimely “visitor” comes calling and throws her newly acquired fiancé into panic mode. What transpires from there is nothing short of chaos personified, until her calmer head finally prevails, and the manner in which Aks embodies this plight her character is facing is downright genius and so deftly executed so as to evoke the requisite and well-earned laughs but NOT at the expense OF the message.
Ta’imua (whose full name is actually Lachlan Ta’imua Hannemann) likewise provides us with a full measure of consummate delight and jocularity through his role as Mr. Dickley, Estrogenia’s handsome suitor and soon-to-be husband who has the dubious “privilege” of illustrating his quick-to-assume, playfully-but-also-glaring cluelessness when he mistakes his lady’s early-arriving catemenia for an injury and proceeds to try and treat it and her as such, manifesting quite a rise in her household staff, father, and siblings while remaining naive until she manages to quell the insanity and set him straight. Talk about an exercise in reactions a character must go through given the circumstances, and watching the actor navigate the good Mr. Dickley through it all is a total sidesplitting hoot. Plus, thee shall never perceive the word “cervix” the same again thanks to the character’s fractured reasoning even as he learns quite the life lesson in the process.
Primary supporting roles arrive, with similar and gloriously hysterical style, first from Samantha Smart as Estrogenia’s eldest sister Labinia, whose concepts of how to handle the entire affair are amusingly unsettling, made all the better by the actress’ wonderful comedic and emotive timing. Nicole Alyse Nelson is Vagianna, the younger sister who wants to assist her struggling sibling but ends up more as an admirably performed, mirth-inducing gopher for Labinia’s schemes and processes to deal with everything. Marilyn Brett is Mrs. Bitts, the hapless housekeeper/servant who has one whopper of a (jolly) time trying to BE that for the household during the crisis, but is thwarted in her efforts more than succeeding. Hugo Armstrong is Mr. Talbot, the girls’ father who tends to be aghast at the events but more so just wants to stay out of such feminine-related issues. Dustin Ingram appears as Dr. Bangley, who by the time of his arrival at the home, may end up not quite getting what he originally expected–whether for good or ill? Other appearances are made by Steve Pinder, Shirin Enayati, Elli Legerski, and Barrett Hutchinson.
Heretofore, in total, “Jane Austen’s Period Drama” is a rollicking, bloody (NO offense meant, my strong gentlewomen! You have more fortitude than I!) good time from start to finish, bitingly keen in its objectives, willing to piece together all the connective tissues its thematic forays delves into, while providing an undeniable magnitude of wry, riotous, consistently fluidic entertainment which allows us to gain smiles we would be remiss to ignore, just like the film’s cornerstone, menses-centric concerns. Hence, take serious, utterly humbled heed, good sirs, for a cycle of reckoning has arrived! Gird thy bits, take good notes, and put aside any childish (and squeamish) disinclination or disservice towards your far wiser lady in this matter so that you shall no longer be seen as wanting, but rather blest, in her TOTALLY justifiable, long-suffering (but still hopefully LOVING) eyes. So….tea with toast and muffins, anyone?
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
