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★★
Written & Directed by: #DylanDuff
Starring: #EmmaMcClure, #KayaMcClure, #KathrynBellamy, #JackieOliver
A girl contemplating life walks along a road.
Coming from the mind of Dylan Duff, The Girl in the Road is a psychological drama that begs many questions. Though not particularly all the questions it wanted… This intriguing little film introduces viewers to a girl who seems lost with herself, aimlessly strolling down an empty road. Put together like some indie music video due to the use of moody songs, it gives off the vibe of playing with a very deep idea. The problem comes with the execution of said idea.
The Girl in the Road is clearly tackling themes of suicide and depression, that’s a given from the first minute or two. But the addition of the girl’s older (or younger?) self appearing in a mysterious form — perhaps a vision — throws everything off. There’s no explanation for these two girls (played by sisters Emma and Kaya McClure) and their encounter with each other. With mere sprinklings of dialogue and information, it’s quite difficult to entertain whatever concept Duff wanted to capture. He’s hands-on with his writing, directorial, producing and editing roles and therefore likely didn’t have much input from external eyes and ears, which points to why this film doesn’t seem to feel very ‘complete.’
The performances from the McClure’s are pretty strong for such a low budget production. It seems as if there’s some genuine thought and feeling put into the characters on their part and that’s certainly one of the more healthier parts of the short. The music choices are fine, though a bit intrusive. Editing and camerawork is what you’d expect from a young beginner filmmaker, and credit to him for putting in the work and getting his ideas out there. The best way to improve is experience and Duff is absolutely going to get better at bringing his concepts to life, to their full potential. But stepping stones as shown with The Girl in the Road are essential.
That’s not to say The Girl in the Road is poor, it actually seems interesting and you can envision a story that it wants to tell, it’s just not quite up to the mark. It could use some adjustment, and perhaps some reshoots to pad out the story and clean up most of the blurriness. The unfortunate confusion that enters in the middle section cripples the film and restrains it from providing a more rewarding and emotionally connective piece of entertainment. It’ll be intriguing to see where Duff heads next.
Watch the trailer for The Girl in the Road below.
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