Fifty-Four Days

A young woman regularly goes swimming in a lake in order to honour her recently-deceased father.

This emotional short drama begins happily, with a family of four celebrating the father's fifty fourth birthday in their household. The atmosphere changes abruptly after the father (Brown) takes his own life by drowning himself in a nearby lake. Some time later, his daughter Ruby (White) decides to swim in that same lake for fifty-four days, with the intention of paying tribute to every year of her late father's life. At the lake, she meets a middle-aged woman named Gloria (Imrie) who also swims there and the two of them begin a friendship.

A large part of the narrative explores how a person's passing has affected his family, particularly his two children. While Ruby remains sociable and embarks on her mission for her father's memory, her brother Josh (Williams) becomes distant and barely speaks. Ruby finds blissfulness in the company of Gloria, while at the same time she tries to reach out to Josh. Josh's inner struggles provide the main conflict of the story.

Although, this film basically deals with the aftermath of a suicide, there are positive elements that include the joys of meeting new people, discovering a rewarding activity and supporting loved ones.

Torrance directs very well and creates some wonderful shots of the lake and Courtney Bennett develops beautiful cinematography. Praise also goes to the music by Hollie Buhagiar that includes original music by Namywa.

This is a beautifully shot film with superb acting that tells a moving story about suicide, loss, grief, honouring the deceased, friendship and family. It deals with the pain of losing a loved one, points out the importance of support and suggests that good things can happen even during the harshest of times.