WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
The shoes we are made to fill–no pressure at all, right? Having a legacy of any sort, assuredly even more so when it is familial, is no easy road to travel down. Even when we have the talents, acquired skills, and overall knowhow to attain the goal set before us, the weight of expectation can become a crushing burden. As with so many things, it comes down to deciding whether we allow it to defeat us, or instead turn inward to convince ourselves in whatever ways possible that we CAN and WILL succeed. Medical student Keity (Schelby Jean-Baptiste) has suffered a blow to her career path. In the attempt to rebound and regain her momentum, she ultimately accepts a position at a morgue. When this position also manifests into a trial for her, Keity delves into the past in an attempt to listen to her own mind but also strive to alleviate overwhelming anxiety of what her family would want in order to discover her own dreams and peace.
Next, my Mind:
Starting out where we wished then having to choose a path which diverges from the original course, dealing with sudden self-doubt and self-imposed presumptions as to where we should still desire to be, feeling the burden of what seems like a pre-determined, unavoidable future, and ultimately facing the choice to follow it or initiate a necessary, liberating change all gets a well-founded, formidable yet inspirational examination through the 16-minute Oscar qualifying short film from writer/director Marilyn Cooke and producer Kélyna N. Lauzier. It’s a smartly written and executed ode to the oft experienced dilemma that surrounds parental and/or grander familial heritage in context of career, and assuredly makes a strong statement about being willing to gain not just a better comprehension of what that is but to be able to ascertain the true validity of pursuing it, IF you will at all, while also making it clear that forging your OWN road ahead could be just as fulfilling and affirming.
In the manner presented here, we see a narrative focused on a young woman looking to enter the surgical realms of the medical field, though after confronting a harrowing obstacle that shakes her to the core, makes a secondary move via an unanticipated internship to try and regain her confidence that could potentially end up altering her course forever. In view of this base premise, the film does an excellent job at thematically scrutinizing how deeply we can battle the specter of previously established and almost forced-upon-us supposition as to our goals and what we are to achieve based on who came before us and the foreshadowing it fashioned of who we COULD be that, supposedly, we just accept and run with. Yet, it is under that sense of perceived (or MAYBE even quite literally) coercion that we’re then made to assess what WE really want, encounter within our minds that which has been haunting us, and then boldly step out, rise up, and KNOW in a much more satisfying and fulfilling way to find the identity and journey that’s OURS. I also admire and support the purposeful encouragement I feel this story exudes about women being successful in what is still too often seen as “a man’s world”. This is changing, and it only improves the world.
Additionally, the narrative takes the time to also address the straightforward but still highly challenging notion of facing death and its impact upon us in general, but also more pointedly in the scope of having to experience it in the ways portrayed here, the lasting and illuminating effect it has, and how it does become a source of solace in putting it aside and moving forward, not as any disrespect to it, but more being able to find that inner peace of knowing your encounters with it will NOT end up defining who you are and can be. The power of that which transports us to the places inside we need to go to in order to discover this is also looked at here to affecting degrees, and further cements the concept of being able to maintain our dreams, even the ones family had for us, but in an attitude and direction that’s all ours, as stated above. The dramatic facets of this film are quite dynamic, but the narrative actually manages to throw in a few simple, lighthearted instances in the midst of the seriousness, which enforces the humanness of what we witness and makes the finale carry the poignancy and power it does.
Jean-Baptiste both fully entertains but even more so steadfastly draws us into this film with a perfect blend of vulnerability and adamant determination through her role as Keity, a medical student definitively on the path to make her mark on the area she desires to aspire to–surgeon–but hits a snag when a circumstance she’s involved in goes sideway. Initially discomposed and anxious about what transpired, Keity options to come back into the field, but through an internship with a small hospital’s morgue. Yet, as she navigates this new and still unpredicted voyage, it opens her eyes to learn a fresh perspective on everything from people, death, the past, a planned out vs. unknown future, and the actuality that her worth, talent, and what’s to come shall be on HER, not the ghosts of the past, regardless of how much she still remembers and cherishes them and what they DID wholly and gratifyingly imparted to her so that she CAN be the person she seeks on HER own terms. It’s a noteworthy performance as Jean-Baptiste just makes you invest in the character throughout the film with a beautifully grounded demeanor. It’s a REAL portrait of LIFE while surrounded by, constructively mind you, death. Fantastic effort.
Primary supporting roles arrive through Michel Laperrière as Dr. Rouleau, Keity’s new boss, Ariane Bérubé as Erykah, Dr. Rouleau’s decidedly eccentric resident assistant at the morgue, and “Fanmi‘s” Mireille Metellus as Keity’s grandmother Myriam, whose spirit has an integral part to play in her granddaughter’s choices. An additional appearance is made by Alexandra Laferrière as Keity’s mother. So, in total, “No Ghost In The Morgue” stands as a wonderfully delivered study in what it is to see our own future come into focus by our own decisions rather than being involuntarily guided by what others would place upon us, whether intentionally or not. It’s also a testimony to the influence of a strong generation of women on a given profession still so often equated with men, and the successes and influence they had upon it which is now being passed down to the next branch in the family tree, with the ongoing assurance of further prosperity and empowerment. Let’s hope this is a trend that continues with absolute impunity for our society, as it will only make us the better for it.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
