LOST AT SEA // A FILM REVIEW OF "MY NAME IS EMILY
Maintaining the balancing act of emotional truth and over sentimental is a feat that many films simply cannot overachieve. I'm happy to say that the cast and crew of MY NAME IS EMILY have no such problems. The wispy and breezy Irish tale stars Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise) as Emily, a 16-year-old unhappy teen. She doesn't quite fit in her school and has bounced around the foster care system as well. Her current home consists of a father who doesn't pay attention and a mother who's lovely but doesn't quite know what Emily needs. Her father (Michael Smiley) always send her a birthday card every year and this year it hasn't arrived. She immediately knows somethings wrong and has to find him. After all, though he cannot take care of her, he's the one person who she ever felt truly seemed to "get her." That is until she meets her classmate Arden (George Webster), another oddball who has watched her from afar, not knowing how to talk to her. But eventually he does and starts to break through her guarded exterior as she hatches a plan: She's going to go rescue her father and invites Arden to come along. The smitten boy does, thus setting the stage for their adventure, one that really does fell like a poetic journey through self-discovery.
Evanna Lynch shines brightly as Emily. She speaks oddly, much like her beloved Luna, and her distancing from others comes off charming and wistful. She longs for someone to experience life the way she does, but doesn't know how to make that happen. Her performance is understated and warm, and invites you in even though the character wants to keep people at an arm’s length. George Webster's performance is charming as well, truly showcasing a boy in search of something as well, someone who needs to escape the darkness that fills his own home. Instead of being quite unsure of how to make that "something" happen he just says "yes" to Emily and throws caution to the wind. It's a spirited performance, both endearing and lovely. Michal Smiley adds yet another wonderful performance to an already wonderful career. Seen mostly through flashbacks, he longs to grasp what parenthood is but also to figure out what life is as well. Both seem out of his grasp though, and seeing him flail and try not to drown erupts into a magical performance indeed.
The cinematography by Seamus Deasy is extraordinarily beautiful in its simplistic beauty as well as its water filled imagery. Writer/director Simon Fitzmaurice has written and directed a film here that doesn't break boundaries but rather speaks to your heart honestly and carefree, spinning a beautiful web indeed. He himself has quite a story himself: Fitzmaurice was diagnosed with ALS and is now completely paralyzed, writing the script with software tracking the movements of his eyes. He directed the film through the same method, which adds even more emotional resonance to the experience. My Name is Emily is a beautiful, quirky film with imagery that will swim in your mind for days. All you have to do is let go...
MATEO'S GRADE: A-
Written and Directed by Simon Fitzmaurice Starring: Evanna Lunch, George Webster, Michael Smiley, Martin McCann, Cathy Belton. Now playing in select theatres and on VOD Feb. 24th.
MY NAME IS EMILY OFFICIAL TRAILER