lanceware

I just picked up a DVD at my local library containing all the AA-nominated shorts from 2007 (both live action and animated). This one was the best of the lot. It is a very sad, emotionally moving story and an excellent look at people facing their cancer along with the associated fear and loneliness. The acting is great, the dialog is very poignant. My favorite part is where a father tells his daughter, who is about to undergo surgery for a tumor in her spine, that admitting she is afraid has actually been a very courageous act. The story involves three women, all cancer patients in a hospital, who bond together amidst facing their fears surrounding their conditions. When one of the women must have surgery on New Years Eve, the three of them decide to celebrate the holiday the night before, not knowing if they will live to spend another such time together. One of them admits to the others that she feels alienated from and hated by her parents due to her own past actions, and, as a result, her parents are not even aware of her illness. This is definitely a very moving short film.

The direction and plot line is rather muddy, perhaps intentionally to keep viewers in the dark. The repeated use of mirrors becomes an annoying gimmick rather than a stylistic feature. Brett's choices for the Holmes character are at times surprisingly odd relative to other episodes. The rest of the acting is uneven. A few of the motivations and reasons are not adequately explained in the end. Some of the shots seem poorly lit. This episode is one of the worst in the series. However, Freddie Jones stands out in a quirky role as Inspector Baynes, a detective trying to one-up Holmes and who turns out to be more intelligent than he at first seems.