EUFF 17' Film Review - My Name Is Emily

Mental stability and genius are two edges of a thin piece of wire. Robert (Michael Smily) is bubbling under the wrong side of the ledger until his daughter Emily (Evanna Lynch) is born. Emily inspires more engagement then Robert fully blossoms after taking a job as a teacher. He's moved to write a book about people needing to have more sex that becomes a best seller leading to book tours, fame and happiness for his family.

Cut to the second stanza where Emily comes home searching the daily mail for a letter greeted by a man and a woman who are not her parents. Emily is in a foster home in Dublin her mother having died in a car accident causing her dad to progressively loose grip on reality and end up in a mental hospital up north. Emily is concerned as her regular birthday card from her dad has not arrived. She enlists the only friendly face in her new school Arden (George Webster) in a plot to head up north and break her dad out.

Writer/Director Simon Fitzmaurice who is paralyzed due to A.L.S. crafts a tale that is heavy on water birthing imagery and lyrical death references. The story uses timely flashbacks to fill in the gaps. Fitzmaurice challenges convention with a key theme that "A Fact Is A Point of View." Cinematographer Seamus Deasy is gifted the Irish countryside as a creative palette. Deasy takes advantage with lush green grasses and pale blues shots of the sea. Translucent underwater scenes highlighting Evanna Lynch's blue eyes mixed with a bright yellow vintage Peugeot complete the picture.

My Name is Emily is a switch in the coming of age story formula. The kids Emily and Arden not the adults are the teachers. Fitzmaurice cuts out modern convince right from the start killing Arden's mobile phone then putting the pair in a vehicle barely above walking speed. It's a pleasantly paced non-linear story that I can recommend.

 My Name is Emily | Simon Fitzmaurice | Ireland | 2015 | 94 minutes.

Tags: Father -Daughter, Book Tour, Foster Home, Mental Hospital, Weird, Road Trip, Maps, Shoplifting, The Sea.