All That Glitters

A petty criminal's soul is magically transferred into the body of a wealthy and troubled woman.

Eddie (Proll) snatches a handbag from Margaret (Myles). She pursues him, which results in a collision with a car, after which supernatural forces bring Eddie's spirit into the body of Margaret. Shocked and not knowing what is going on, Margaret (now having Eddie's personality and knowledge) ends up meeting her daughter Sasha (Murray) and going to their large, luxurious house. It is soon revealed that Margaret's husband David (Newman) has a drinking problem and is violent towards his wife and daughter. Margaret attempts to change the situation.

This short film is a fantasy drama with a plot that involves a sort of body swap element. The narrative heavily involves themes of domestic violence, dysfunctional families, parenthood and childhood trauma. It begins as a story about a small-time outlaw, before moving towards the supernatural and finally towards family drama.

After Eddie ''becomes'' Margaret, he takes over her life and proceeds to alter it with his decisions. He gets to know Sasha and bonds with her and stands up to David. 'Choice' is another important element in this story. The film suggests that sometimes people find themselves into situations where they believe they cannot escape from, however they have the ability to change their life if they decide to do so. Another message appears to be that even though people can be different in many ways, they can still have significant similarities as it is revealed that Eddie suffered from a violent, alcoholic father as a child, much like Margaret is married to a man who is aggressive and a heavy drinker.

All of the protagonists deliver great performances. Proll is convincing as a lowlife who dislikes people who are more privileged than him and Murray is dramatic as a young girl who is suffering from her abusive father. Myles plays the main character and she does an exceptional job as a woman who has become a young man on the inside. She expresses feelings of confusion, panic, sadness and anger with strong persuasion. Newman is the violent husband and father, whose presence creates tension and his character could be viewed as the antagonist.

Simon Rowling creates beautiful cinematography and composer Jean-Loup Pinson makes an outstanding contribution with the wonderful score that makes a rather dramatic atmosphere and the song Walk Away by Pinson and Ludovica Rosaz closes the film very effectively.

This twenty-two-minute-long short is rather heavy on emotions, contains a great deal of drama and it is worth mentioning that the scenes where Margaret comforts and amuses her daughter are rather heart-warming. The main messages seem to be that two people who live different lives can still have notable similarities and that they have the power to turn their lives around.