Chestnut

Chestnut, for me, is about falling in love with the wrong person(s) at the right time.

Which is to say, sometimes it's best to fall in love when life is moving in a different direction. If you'd remain in that place - that same love is devouring.

And the people who stay (in life and in the film) - get devoured - there is no way out of the vortex once in it.

I found the film honest in its depiction of what it means to be in a transitional state - where life's big events come to a close, and a new journey has not yet began.

Annie (Natalia Dyer) does a wonderful job in this complex state of excitement and melancholia - it's like a sense of nostalgia for something that never was, but always has the potential to be.

Sometimes the life journey of other people stumble upon you - and it brings new energy, possibilities, and experiences.

Tyler (Rachel Keller) is electric as the center of this circle. And she is balanced by her partner Danny (Danny Ramirez) who serves as the emotional center.

The three main characters become caught revolving in each others orbit - pulled together and thrown apart. The relationship dynamic is tragically beautiful - but it's also ephemeral.

The relationships in the film (and in life) feel as deep as a soul bond - but the people never know even the shallow end of one's depths.

Every thing one is - is replaceable, arbitrary, the death of a mother is the same as a shot of whiskey.

The film is also about trying to hold on to something - but we don't know what it is while we are trying to hold onto it. It's better understood after it's ended.

On one level the film is about a love triangle.

On another level - it's about falling in love with a narcissist.

On another level it's about saying goodbye and hello.

On another level it's about coming to terms one's self.

I can't say the film is for everyone. And maybe I loved it specifically for that reason. It's a brief moment in the span of a life - and in that moment it feels endless with possibility - but the possibility ended the moment it began. It allows one to grow into a bigger potential - somewhere else - with someone else - as someone else.

That is the essential beauty of falling in love with the wrong person(s) at the right time. It teaches you how to love the right person - yourself.

Thank you Jac Cron for your writing and direction. You rang my life like a bell and it still resonates days after.