The last three minutes of Patrick Vollrath’s compelling short, Everything Will Be Okay are among the most harrowing moments ever shown on film. If doing so wasn’t a brazen spoiler, one could write a thesis just on these final moments alone. Where the short film genre is usually composed of mini-movies or pastiched gems that feel like the equivalent of a swift amusement park ride, Mr. Vollrath elevates the form to its higher potential. Everything Will Be Okay is a gradual, unwavering, and unabridged narrative showing the burst of emotional seeds. It’s a simple premise. The 30-minute short embarks around a most-likely typical day in the life of a perfectly normal, modern 8-year old girl (Julia Pointer). She’s excited to see her father when he picks her up from his ex-wife’s home. As the day wears on, the film zeros in upon tell-tale emotions leaking from an untold back story we can easily imagine. The tension soon escalates— but quietly so.
The perfectly paced tempo arises from a honeyed well that parents and children often tap into together. Such communication may look ordinary on the surface, but these interactions point to a depth which far-too-often goes unnoticed. The child is trusting and naturally spontaneous; the parent is full of good intentions and uncertainty. This kettle percolates with burning undercurrents that we, as once-children have experienced, but might have numbingly or out of necessity and time, dismissed as mundane. This is especially so in the bigger context of broken hearts, loss and tragedies from which we cannot protect our children. It’s okay. They already know. We must believe that everything will be okay in order to continue, despite our pain. Any subtleties previously ignored are inescapable from the intimate lens of this film.
This is young Julia Pointer’s first film, and it’s as though there was no camera. As Lea, she is as perfect and natural as dimes in a beggar’s hand. The parade of emotions that float up and cascade across her delicate face is wondrous to watch, especially for one who can’t possibly fabricate such intense feelings. Lea is like a glass of pure water that can face a tsunami.
We’re very fortunate to have Patrick Vollrath behind the lens. It doesn’t matter that it’s only 30 minutes long, Everything Will Be Okay performs the work of a feature film with so much less. Films like this are important. In the way documentaries at best might affect social change, a film that honestly points to the inner sanctum of our psyche, might also affect personal change without the soapbox. Who knows? It simply reveals. Everything Will Be Okay is a superbly-made short film sparking high-voltage charges, while remaining totally devoid of the artificial pyrotechnics that its Hollywood contemporaries are so fond of chasing. More, please.
Everything Will Be Okay is among the ten finalists competing for the Best Live Action Short Film Academy Award.
Other finalists for the nomination are:
Ave Maria, Basil Khalil, director, and Eric Dupont, producer (Incognito Films)
Bad Hunter, Sahim Omar Kalifa, director, and Dries Phlypo, producer (A Private View)
Bis Gleich (Till Then), Philippe Brenninkmeyer, producer, and Tara Lynn Orr, writer (avenueROAD Films)
Contrapelo (Against the Grain), Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, director, and Pin-Chun Liu, producer (Ochenta y Cinco Films)
Day One, Henry Hughes, director (American Film Institute)
The Free Man (Zi You Ren), Quah Boon-Lip, director (Taipei National University of the Arts)
Shok, Jamie Donoughue, director (Eagle Eye Films)
Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary, director (Bare Golly Films)
Winter Light, Julian Higgins, director, and Josh Pence, producer (Innerlight Films and Prelude Pictures)
