Still Love You is a powerful and beautifully-handled directorial debut that offers a poignant and insightful exploration of a mother-daughter relationship, in particular, and the overall makeup of the equation that could perhaps apply to mother-daughters everywhere, in general. The film opens with a shot of a woman applying red lipstick, perhaps getting ready for an important date. The situation is revealed to be far from that as she impatiently awaits her daughter's baby-sitter, while squeezing in little chores in-between all along.
When 'Mimi' finally arrives, revealed to be the protagonist's mother, the tone shifts markedly. Along with being a single mother, the protagonist is a dancer at a gentleman's club - not the most ideal circumstance, according to her mother. Consequently, as the difference of opinions takes the form of several disagreements in the conversation between them, on top of the urgency to make it to her appointment in time, the scene now comes to be defined by anxieties, disapproval of each other's life choices, offers of help which might come across as patronizing, and some more. And yet, a daughter cannot help, but go back to some of the same patterns she shared with her mother, when it comes to raising her own daughter.
The same thought becomes a lovely thematic concern for the narrative. As it continues to develop, there is of course a second act waiting to follow the stressful drama of the first half. Lights are softer now, the physical space is tidier, assumedly in alignment with a calmer mental space as well, and the sound of arguing voices is subdued. It is simply in this contrast that the film's primary motivations are laid bare for the viewer, leaving them with an intensely emotional, skilfully-crafted final result at the end of it all.
Read LessWhen 'Mimi' finally arrives, revealed to be the protagonist's mother, the tone shifts markedly. Along with being a single mother, the protagonist is a dancer at a gentleman's club - not the most ideal circumstance, according to her mother. Consequently, as the difference of opinions takes the form of several disagreements in the conversation between them, on top of the urgency to make it to her appointment in time, the scene now comes to be defined by anxieties, disapproval of each other's life choices, offers of help which might come across as patronizing, and some more. And yet, a daughter cannot help, but go back to some of the same patterns she shared with her mother, when it comes to raising her own daughter.
The same thought becomes a lovely thematic concern for the narrative. As it continues to develop, there is of course a second act waiting to follow the stressful drama of the first half. Lights are softer now, the physical space is tidier, assumedly in alignment with a calmer mental space as well, and the sound of arguing voices is subdued. It is simply in this contrast that the film's primary motivations are laid bare for the viewer, leaving them with an intensely emotional, skilfully-crafted final result at the end of it all.
HAVE YOU MADE A FILM?
