From Omeleto.
A woman and a stranger share a meal.
GUTS is used with permission from Margaux Susi. Learn more at https://margauxsusi.com.
Amelia is a young woman in recovery. She’s done something odd: she’s just asked a stranger named Gabby to have dinner with her.
Over her dinner, Amelia reveals her struggles at "the center," where she deals with issues around food and eating. Tough and quietly cynical, Gabby reveals how difficult it is to get older and lose her loved ones. As the two share their meal and some time afterward, they forge a tenuous bond.
Directed by Margaux Susi and written by Jan Rosenberg, this short drama has a seemingly simple set-up, with two characters sharing a meal in a few rooms, supported by equally pared-down visuals that feel composed and thoughtful. But the premise has an odd origin: in a moment of psychological crisis, a woman in recovery from an eating disorder has banged on a stranger’s door and asked that stranger to share a meal.
By throwing two strangers in an intimate setting in a moment of quiet crisis, the storytelling plumbs emotional depths with a unique tone. Straight-talking, slightly brusque and yet ultimately kind, Gabby knows nothing about Amelia, so her questions about Amelia’s time at the center allow the writing to weave in valuable backstory that lets us understand how these two arrived at their current state in the narrative. Their conversation has a tone that oscillates between halting, compassionate and matter-of-fact. Both women touch upon their troubles, the dialogue allowing for moments of wry, slightly dark humor and sober reflection, which never veers into the maudlin.
Instead, actors Angela Giarratana and Kate Burton, who play Amelia and Gabby, respectively, manage the trick of conveying deep feelings lurking just under the surface of civility and politeness, both performers turning in superb performances that feel real and lived-in. They talk about their unique experiences while discovering the common feeling of isolation that they both share. Amelia feels isolated because she struggles with food and eating; Gabby feels alone due to her age and the loss of her husband. Together, for one meal, they have broken that isolation — and for that moment, have made a difference in one another’s lives.
A selection at Sundance, GUTS manages the trick of being deeply compassionate and empathetic without sentimentality, portraying a very common but often misunderstood mental health issue in a way that’s complex, accessible but without graphic melodrama. It seems deceptively simple in look and feel, but as the film unfurls, its restraint reflects its characters’ struggles. These two women are trying to hold on and keep it together, tiptoeing through emotional minefields without triggering anything destabilizing. By the end, it evokes no less than the courage it takes to make it through a day without falling into the abyss — and how we help one another through, with the simple yet profound act of witness.
