Hollyshorts Film Festival Review Roundup Part 3 - A Victoria Pedretti Special

Hey guys, Brandon here! My wife Angela is more of a book person, but there are 3 actresses that can get her to watch absolutely any film. One of those three are Victoria Pedretti. She sat down with me to watch the two shorts she stars in: Fall Risk and Merci, Poppy. Keep reading below to see her review of each!

Fall Risk, dir. Alex Martini

What happens when you can't trust the person you love the most? Even worse, what happens when you can't rely on yourself?

Fall Risk asks these questions. The captivating Victoria Pedretti (known for her work in Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and You, as well as this year's Ponyboi) stars as the bed-ridden Dylan. For the majority of the short film, Dylan's exact diagnosis is unclear, but little hints indicate her condition is serious and debilitating: Dylan flexes her hands cautiously and she's asked by medical personnel to self-access her daily pain. We learn later Dylan is living with multiple sclerosis.

Thankfully, she's not alone, because her girlfriend, Emily, appears utterly devoted to her, regularly visiting her hospital and often bearing gifts. But before the viewer can grow suspicious, and initially appearing borderline paranoid, Dylan begins suspecting her seemingly loving partner of being dishonest. It feels unwarranted; Dylan seems like an unreliable narrator. She's often confused and uncertain because of the serious drugs she's on, yet at the same time she's unflinching in her suspicion that Emily has somehow betrayed her. She recruits her friend to help her uncover the secret she's convinced Emily's hiding.

Fall Risk plays with the idea that trusting someone enough to fall in love is always going to be a risk. As Dylan struggles to rely on her own body in its untrustworthiness, she struggles to trust her partner's fidelity. She's utterly aware of her own vulnerabilities and how they may be exploited. She knows that she once trusted her body to carry her safety through life and it let her down. It doesn't seem like such a jump to believe Emily may also betray her.

Maybe the takeaway from Fall Risk is that our instincts cannot be corroded by disease. Even as our bodies fail us, our minds fight to protect us. Maybe we should learn to stop questioning our instincts and trust our gut. It's been right before.

Review by: Angela Marie

Merci, Poppy, dir. Hanna Gray Organschi

You can't have a rational conversation with an irrational person.

Merci, Poppy is an exercise in setting boundaries and having hard conversations. At the beginning of this short, the ever-compelling Victoria Pedretti (Ponyboi, The Haunting of Hill House) enters the lavish home of a man named Cyrus in a bit of a rush. At first, it's not clear who Cyrus is to her. Is he her eccentric older boyfriend? Poppy finds him lying on his back outside on the dock, soaking wet from the rain. She's delivering something - anti-anxiety meds requested in the middle of a panic attack. Cyrus brushes off Poppy's delivery of the medicine and when Poppy asks for a minute of Cyrus' time, he keeps avoiding the impending conversation. Her role becomes clear when Poppy introduces herself to the random houseguests Cyrus invited over - she is Cyrus' assistant. Poppy is clearly managing Cyrus' life like she's his parent; he perfectly fits the stereotype of a moody, difficult, childish millionaire.

After Poppy is invited into a conversation with the houseguests, one of whom works in finance and the other who works in film, she's asked about her strengths and the mood switches. Instead of a slightly uncomfortable conversation between strangers, it feels more like a job interview. "I'm smart," Poppy says, "And quick," which Cyrus disputes with a comment about her delay in arriving that morning. When a houseguest mentions the flightiness of young people nowadays, bemoaning how often "dissatisfied" they are, Poppy finally finds the strength to say aloud that she herself is unhappy and dissatisfied, which leads to an argument with Cyrus about why that is when the guests leave.

It's clearly difficult for Poppy to say what she needs to - you see her weighing in her mind the pros and cons of not speaking at all, until she finally says it: she's ready for more; she wants a promotion. It clearly takes a great deal of courage for Poppy to ask for one, and she openly admits it makes her uncomfortable. Cyrus' response is to talk about himself, asking Poppy if she believes he's a genius like one of the houseguests, Mel, called him. It's clear that Cyrus only has the ability to think about himself, and that seems to be the last straw for Poppy. She tells him she's ready to quit, and that causes him to absolutely melt down, screaming at her to "Get out!" She hurries to leave, but not before bringing him the pills she made the trek to fetch for him. It's clear that even though she's exhausted and insulted, Poppy cares about Cyrus' well-being and knows him better than most people in his life. Ultimately, she turns and walks away, signalling that she is done being undervalued.

If you've ever tried to tell a narcissistic person how they make you feel, you understand the impossibility of extracting empathy from people who can see nothing but themselves. In a work situation, you have the added dynamic of power: your boss controls your life because they control your income. Asking to be appropriately rewarded for your work, or given more responsibility, could very well be received poorly by someone who does not value you or has a history of being hard to talk to. Having the courage to speak up may just give you the courage to leave.

Review by: Angela Marie