REFLECTIONS // A FILM REVIEW OF "SOPHIE JONES"
There's a delicacy taken in the telling of SOPHIE JONES that powers this coming-of-age story to the top of the pack. Directed by Jessie Barr and co-written and starring Jessica Barr (her real life cousin), the entire film gives you a feeling of being a fly on the wall and experiencing Sophie's day to day struggles. The main character of Sophie Jones (Jessica Barr) is a 16-year-old high school student who's mourning the loss of her mother. She lives with her father (Dave Roberts) and sister (Charlie Jackson) and they aren't the kind of family to lay their wounds on the table and talk about them. So the emptiness of the mother is always felt.
Sophie's coping comes in the form of a sudden burst of sexual activity. She arranges a hook up with her friend Kevin (Charlie Jackson) just for the sake of pushing the pain away, though Kevin might harbor stronger feelings than Sophie inititially thinks. She moves from Kevin to Tony (Chase Offerle), a more rebellious type. She's keeps going head first into burying all the pain she's feeling and replacing it with sex, hook up after hook up. Rumors start flying around school and her best friend Claire (Claire Manning), concerned that all of her actions could be unhealthy, comments that it all seems to have started after her mother died and wants to know how she can help her in some way.
What works so well in SOPHIE JONES is how tenderly and respectfully the film handles her journey. Nothing is ever explicit or shameful. We don't feel judgment on any actions she takes, but years for her to start feeling again. The dialogue and situations move with a realistic fluidity, giving every scene an "off-the-cuff" kind of motion and Jessica Barr's performance as the title character is relaxed, layered and overall stunning. We as the audience know that her actions, and the disregard of other people's feelings, are going to catch up with her, but instead of feeling judgement, the film always pushes us towards understanding. When her father announces that he's going to start dating again, we immediately feel what Sophie's actions suggests: it's too soon! Then you catch yourself and realize he's also trying to move past the grief and work through it in his own way. Jessie Barr directs each scene with delicacy, handling every single characters heart with care. It's a remarkable film: honest, quiet and powerful film that digs deep within the grieving process and works exceptionally well on every single level.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN BY Jessie Barr, Jessica Barr DIRECTED BY Jessie Barr STARRING Jessica Barr, Charlie Jackson, Skyler Verity, Claire Manning, Dave Roberts NOW PLAYING IN SELECT THEATRES AND ON DIGITAL CINEMAS AND VOD. FOR MORE INFO: https://www.sophiejonesmovie.com/