WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
A cognizance of age. We can all relate, whether wishing to or not, to the unending passage of time in this journey we call existence. No matter how much we might attempt to fight it, there’s no stopping the truths and potentially harsh realities that accompany growing older, perhaps even more so when seen through the eyes of a child. The need for understanding and assessing what someone advanced in years is experiencing can be daunting–but could also bring about amazing clarity when it’s needed most. Eight year old Dylan (Mason Wells) finds his young world highly engaged with his best friend, an elderly woman named Ms. Brooks (Roberta Sloan) whom Dylan’s caregiver mother Abby (Meghan K. Lees) attends to. But, when his confidant begins succumbing to a debilitating mental disease that threatens their daily interactions, Dylan takes matters into his own hands to preserve the sanctity of their bond.
Next, my Mind:
Direct, accessible, sublimely innocent, undeniably charming, yet acutely purposeful in its core message that should more than raise further and necessary awareness to a heartbreakingly debilitating disease, this 20-minute indie short film effort from writer/director/producer Bruna Cabral plus producers Camila Rizzo and Ligia Osorio more than effectively wears its thematic exploration’s stirring potency on its sleeve, with absolute, beautiful, but sobering impact for the viewer. What strikes me about the narrative is the boldness to address the foundational concept being presented through the pure, unadulterated perspective of youth as it looks into the heart and soul of another whose life is in its twilight years, initiating a journey for both characters involved that becomes as cathartic as it is realistically blunt, emotionally resonant, and utterly resolute in showcasing the realities of Alzheimer’s and how it effects each of them.
What then adds to this admittedly heavy but still delightfully smile-inducing, heartwarming tale is, as hinted at above, the engaging viewpoint, questioning, and inward reasoning of the circumstances as witnessed and experienced by an 8-year old boy whose best friend in the world is suddenly fading away. His recognition of this, the subsequent curiosity accompanied by building apprehension, and then the determined mindset to make such a wonderfully touching exploit to remedy it so dramatically and persuasively illustrates the intentionality of human connection and its impact on how we see life and relate to each other, regardless of age or gender. How the narrative brings about the idea that long-lasting memory ultimately resides in the heart is likewise addressed in profoundly affecting ways and leads the story to its tender, believably poignant finale that will capture and retain your heart, as it more than rightly should.
As we continue to navigate a world gone into abrupt and disquieting alteration thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, films addressing any form of deteriorating mental state, regardless of reason or origin, feel highly necessary and definitively timely, as awareness for these conditions and people’s need to be cared for who suffer from them should be even more in the forefront of our minds, at least in my opinion. Additionally, the sheer potency of seeing the deep bond between two people being threatened with breaking apart here likewise carries an inherently compelling strength, reminding us that recognizing, forming, and maintaining that level of relationship with others to some degree is so important and really makes one realize how lost of a notion and practice it is when social media and other technology, for all its benefits of “connecting” the world, has honestly driven us apart. The film embraces and encourages unconcealed human interaction, authentic love and concern for another’s well-being, and deliberate, wholehearted action to do what it takes to try and selflessly protect meaningful closeness. These are all paramount actualities that desperately need to be regained.
The film is, as so many of these indie projects are despite lack of higher budgets, smoothly shot visually, the camera following the characters with needed intent and flow, enfolding us as the viewer into the depicted events to a degree that truly allows us to become fully immersed in the narrative. The accompanying music score also brings a binding element to the story, proficiently consistent in its ability to evoke the proper tone/mood when utilized. Sloan provides a seamlessly fluid, unquestionably astute, and wholly moving performance through her role as Ms. Brooks, an elderly woman who’s still filled with plenty of vim and vigor, especially when spending time with her 8-year old pal Dylan. Her playfulness and good-hearted synergy with him is sincere and beneficial to them both. But, as her episodes of memory loss and forgetfulness begin to become more frequent, watching as she starts to “dissolve” is so overtly heart-wrenching as is a key moment of recollection that puts an exclamation point on the film’s final act, and Sloan nails the subtle and blatant nuances of her character’s disease and subsequent plight superbly and with perfect resonance and emotive grace.
I continue to be in wonder of child actors and their ability to be so much more beyond their years when seeing them have to enact characters and voyage through more adult themes while doing so believably. You can already guess I find no exception to this rule here through the delightful, straightforward, highly mature performance given by Wells via his role as Dylan, an 8-year old boy whose found the ideal companion to share his life with via games, uncomplicated conversation, and the simple joy of learning and unconditional acceptance thanks to Ms. Brooks, whom his caregiver mother Abby looks after. But, when Dylan’s world gets rocked by Ms. Brooks’ Alzheimer’s-based occurrences and his fears and doubts arise from it, he embarks on a personal crusade to ensure that one way or the other, the memories he has and still feels he wants to make will somehow be able to prevail, persist, and inhabit both of their minds. It’s a unequivocally endearing performance Wells entertains us with, and truly makes the heart and soul of the narrative even more plausible.
The main supporting appearance arrives through Lees as Dylan’s mother and Ms. Brooks’ caregiver Abby, whom initially has hesitations about her son’s insistence at keeping contact with her ward as the Alzheimer’s takes over, but soon realizes the depth of her son’s resolve. So, in total, “Piece Of Me” deftly manifests a simple but impressively dynamic and influential atmosphere that reverberates with needed significance and fundamentally crucial lessons about the nature of aging, recognition of our desire to see diseases such as Alzheimer’s faced and conquered, and the precious timelessness of reminiscences past, present, and future we can accept and impart, which should then be paired with an evocatively urgent need to do what it takes to preserve those remembrances so that in heart, mind, soul, and spirit, they can and will linger forever, one piece at a time.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
