Daddy(2017, Short) Review

Title: Daddy
Year: 2017
Director: Carrie Brooks 
Country: Canada
Language: English

My friend Paul Riviera was the lead actor in this extremely indie short, so I thought I might as well review it. It's a very very low budget short by an inexperienced director featuring a nice Canadian cast and crew. A movie is a movie and I might as well review it. 

Through many years of trying to gain her absent father’s (Paul Riviera)  love, a girl (Michelle Anderson) discovers a family secret that shatters her identity and changes her perspective on everything she thinks she knows about herself and her father

After seeing the film, I'm not sure how I feel about this "secret". Considering this is the director's very real attempt at reconciling the past through film, one shouldn't greatly alter the truth, but perhaps this could have been alluded to earlier in the film with something as small as a line of dialogue.

"Why can't you take your daughter?"
"So she's MY daughter now!?"

Then again, having this secret revealed without any foreshadowing makes the picture a decent repeat viewing as it changes the dynamics of the character. You can re-watch Daddy from the beginning with a different perspective. Perhaps the dad was so cold because he couldn't process his experience. Perhaps the "proud" moment is even more extraordinary because he loves his daughter despite the "secret". Perhaps the main character has more of a "mommy" issue than we realize.

One can't expect too much in terms of technical expertise when it comes to bathtub film-making, but there were many shots I enjoyed. One in particular was the cookbook falling off the van. I also loved Paul Riviera's acting. He works well as an old man; I could sense the desperation and loneliness coming off the character. I also enjoyed his younger scenes. The way he shows with his face that he doesn't care about his daughter's accomplishments is proof of decent acting. 

Daddy's screenwriter has potential, even if the story has a few rough bumps and the "twist" doesn't resonate in the way they would hope it to. One cannot expect perfection in the beginning of a film-maker/writer/actor's career. As far as a novice goes, this was entertaining. 

Ps. Taiya is an A+ actress.