Such A Pretty Girl

Written and directed by Deborah Puette, Such A Pretty Girl follows Meg having returned to her childhood home to care for her elderly father. Meg faces an impossible choice when her 12 year old child, Finn, discovers a long-buried relic from her past. With mere moments to decide, Meg must choose between protecting her father’s comfort and supporting her child.

The short opens to soft imagery and a cozy soundscape. It’s pleasant. Maybe too pleasant. These suspicions are confirmed when the almost infantile music is jarringly interrupted by Meg’s entrance, whereupon she finds Finn wearing her old dress. This is an excellent showcase of subversion straight off the bat. Within the first 6 (long) seconds of Meg stepping in, unfolds a wordless interaction that could fill an entire short-film of its own, with Meg visibly scrambling to figure out how to react and Finn feeling caught in the act. This moment will surely be a point of universal relatability, even if not the specifics, then the identifiable feelings of not knowing how to handle an unexpected situation with a loved one.

The tone is captured remarkably by director of photography Katharine White, who chooses the sophisticated approach by letting the camera linger on each moment, electing for sparse yet meticulously composed shots as opposed to fast-paced visual flourishes. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, White and Puette box us into the claustrophobic emotional situation along with the characters.

Speaking of the characters, not only are all three central performances from Sarah Drew (Meg), Harry Groener (Frank) and Cole Moreno (Finn) sensitively conveyed, but the material in which they are given speaks to each character without explicitly stating anything out of the ordinary, subtly weaving invisible exposition into the dialogue. Through this, we are provided reasoning to the social pressures both Meg and Finn may be experiencing. Whether it be Frank making gender-conforming remarks such as “men wear ties”, or the inference that they come from a traditional religious family.

Furthermore each character is represented with an empathetic innocence from Puette. Even Frank who represents the majority of the conflict throughout the piece is presented as ignorant rather than purposefully cruel.

Despite the high quality of the film in its entirety, the ending feels just a little bit too neat and easy, almost coming off like the definitive end of this situation rather than an optimistic start on a long road of trials for Finn. However, even with this, it is hard to deny that the ending is heartwarming. Viewers will also be endeared to know that this film was created from the writer’s first hand experience of watching her own daughter’s journey through transitioning, a fact that deepens the emotional effect of this tale.

There are no villains here. Such A Pretty Girl is drawn straight from the heart with a refreshing empathy and unwavering grace with its mature writing style that leaves the audience alone, allowing the brilliant central performances to do the emotional storytelling.

This short acts as a proof of concept for an upcoming feature version. Writer/ director Deborah Puette offers this work “in honor of all the incredible Finns in the world for their deep bravery and commitment to being truly themselves.”