OVUM is a film that succeeds mostly in the off-beat strength of its very original concept: a struggling method actress endures the shocking and often bitingly-funny ordeal of egg donation in pursuit of real-life experience she can bring to a coveted role.
Sonja O'Hara (who also wrote the script) leads the way as Catherine, and like the character she portrays, Ms. O'Hara is sometimes sure-footed on-screen and sometimes unsteady. Oddly, its an imbalance that works in the film's favor: the unsteady moments feel more right and less 'acting' keeps her in synch with the character she embodies. Laura Poe gives the film's best performance as aging actress Isabella, providing tremendous backbone, depth and believability as the would-be recipient of Catherine's eggs. The instabilities of each character allow Poe and O'Hara to share a solid screen chemistry & relationship, one that dearly begs for more exploration especially given the motherly figure already being taken out of Catherine's life. Katie Morrison shoots adrenaline into the free-spirited Ellen with both barrels, her performance and Matt Ott's direction smartly avoiding the usual traps of such 'wild' personas, though its done at a pace that again sacrifices necessary depth and tenderness in Ellen's relationship with Catherine, especially in Ellen's key moment of weakness.
O' Hara's storytelling doesn't hit traditional beats: this is not a traditional story. It's dynamic & refreshing to see a story about women, featuring women, told by a woman, that's also uninterrupted by incoherent mansplaining. There's a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of more subtle humor as well. While characters & relationships may demand to be bolstered, O'Hara's concept scores big on the 'fresh and original, with a twist' adage that makes independent film exciting. Not everything works and there's plenty of room to take the story or characters into darker territory, but huge credit to director Ott for letting the characters play in their world: the lighter touch he exhibits rightfully keeps the concept center-stage. There are many moments of budding brilliance in Dan McBride's cinematography, most notably in the fire escape scenes, the bareness of the revelation scene with Cat in Isabella's condo, and Cat & Ellen cavorting in the park. While not perfect, OVUM really shines as a labor of love for all involved— I left it with the sense that despite the obvious hard work and dedication that goes into making a film of any kind, this crew had a hell of a lot of fun and good times putting this together. There's a lot of talent on the rise in this one: O'Hara, Morrison, Poe, Ott & McBride are fresh faces & filmic voices to watch for. At a slim 85 minutes, OVUM is well worth the time spent to see something more than a little different.
