alexjames96
- Oct 25, 2021
- 2 min read

Ivonne Short Film Review

★★★★

Starring: #AndreaGuerrero, #BetsyShaw, #LizzetRamirez, #EvangelinaLomeliSánchez

This short film had a simple but captivating storyline, a woman who is preparing for her wedding day in two days’ time and is looking for those special white shoes to match with her beautiful gown for the day to fully come together. However, all is not as it seems, Ivonne is a melancholic narrative which shows the slow demise of an elderly lady and her struggle to determine fact from fiction.

This short begins with Ivonne waking in her bed, admiring her wedding ring. Ivonne starts off her morning by crossing off items for the big day from her checklist. The first thing that hit me was the period of this short film. It seemed confusing at first, a mixture of modern and almost a 1950’s look to Ivonne’s outfit, makeup and décor. Ivonne looked as though she had been caught in a time warp, however, everything outside her home was of the present day. This was an extremely clever ploy, as it forced the audience to question the character as well as her surroundings, she clearly was not an average woman excited for her wedding day there was something deeply concerning about her aura. This made for an interesting watch as the viewer is left questing everything, including the direction of the storyline.

The only item Ivonne desperately needed was these white shoes. She sets off and tries shop after shop, only to be met with dismissals and is turned away from each store almost as if she was a pest and unwelcome wherever she entered. The actress brilliantly executed the damsel in distress persona and a great deal of sympathy can be felt in her time of desperation, especially when she searches through rubbish just to find a simple pair of shoes. The story begins to take a slight turn at this stage, and the audience soon learn that Ivonne is trapped in this mindset that her fiancé will return to whisk her away. Unfortunately, this is untrue, and we discover that Ivonne is nothing more than an elderly lady trapped in the past, repeating the same actions over and over. Unable to move from that single day and into the real world. This was an exceptionally clever twist and adds an uneasy feel to the story, as well as paint the character as far more complex and compelling than initially presumed at the start of the film. The ending makes us look back on the treatment of Ivonne by everyone she encounters, as she is cast aside by society.

This short was brilliantly written and fascinating from start to finish. Who doesn’t love a story with a great twist? Ivonne is a character surrounded by loneliness but is almost not even aware of this loneliness, she is wrapped up in a fantasy which will never be fulfilled. An extremely sad and moving narrative but one which perfectly exposes the vulnerability of a character, allowing the audience to connect with her and invest in her fictional world.