From Omeleto.
A young woman is followed home.
A REFLECTION is used with permission from Laurie Barraclough. Learn more at https://lauriebarraclough.com.
Cam is returning to her childhood home after a long time away. She’s been estranged from her parents, but she’s brought back to reckon with the imminent death of her father after suffering a catastrophic heart attack, not to mention the giant dragon following her around.
Her arrival home is met with a mixed reception from her mother Iris, who is both relieved and critical in almost the same moment. Cam finds old wounds and patterns triggered again, despite years of independent life and emotional distance. But when the time comes to say goodbye to her father, she realizes what matters in the moment.
Directed and written by Laurie Barraclough, this spare and poetic short drama uses elements of magical realism to explore the uneasy homecoming of a prodigal daughter. As she grapples with her thorny relationship with her childhood and parents, Cam’s journey is both external and internal. But the element of a dragon in the distance, as both a companion and a haunting presence, allows the narrative to explore complex themes of ambivalence, grief and heartache in complex and nuanced ways.
Told with otherwise subdued yet beautiful visual naturalism, the storytelling is on the quiet, gentle side, opening with Cam traveling from the city to the rural setting of her childhood home. As she leaves the city, a dragon flies alongside the train in the distance, a sign Cam treats with wariness. It’s also a startling, evocative image, layered with an ethereal musical score, signaling from the start that there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
Cam’s immersion back home is hard in ways that are expected and unexpected, considering the crisis and circumstances. Home is a dark, cold place that feels barren, and more pointedly, her mother is flinty and dismissive, often retreating into convention instead of talking intimately with her daughter. As Cam settles into the home again, we sense how it brings up memories, both happy and sad, for her. Facing her father’s imminent passing, Cam especially wants to see her father one last time — to hear some words of love or affirmation from him before he goes.
As Cam, actor Isabella Speaight’s performance delicately evokes the dilemma of an adult who has carved out a space to be themselves but reverts to childhood conditioning when back home. Despite her life and growth, she still craves the affirmation and affection she didn’t get as a child. Playing off actor Niamh Cusack as her mother, Speaight is unafraid to play Cam’s growing neediness and anger at hert parents, especially when they’ve never changed. Faced with her dad’s state, she may never get what she needs from him, emotionally, and it’s a profound, even devastating disappointment.
Cam brings this heartache into A REFLECTION’s final sequence, a lyrical fantasy scene of quiet beauty that evokes a shift from inner tumult to the beginnings of acceptance. Her encounter with the magical dragon becomes a powerful symbol of transformation and maturation, letting her inner child grieve and facing the sometimes challenging reality of life with more sturdiness and strength. It’s the beginning of making peace and moving forward, ending the film with a note of memorable grace and wisdom.
