Sarah Cullen casts her net over emotive short film Bottled Up.
The first thing the audience encounters in Desmond Daly’s short film Bottled Up is the soundscape, as the Portmarnock sea air arrives like an elongated sigh: a moment of restlessness before the sea itself comes into view, followed quickly by a shot of a woman (Kate Moon) holding a glass bottle to her chest while immersed in the waves. From the very first moment, then, Bottled Up demonstrates a mastery of narrative elements, with all of them joining together to build a heartbreaking, soul-searching but ultimately hopeful story of grief and acceptance.
Bottled Up follows a mother and daughter (played by Kate and Aoife Moon) on a trip to the beach, in which they talk about their recently deceased husband and father and explore their feelings in his absence. Just like the sea air, Daly has given the story space to breathe in small, quiet moments, allowing the audience to connect with the characters’ emotions.
Conor McKenna’s clever use of cinematography, which plays around with colour; Dan William Rooney’s poignant soundtrack; the camera, which lingers on moments of painful grief; and a delicate and deft script written by Daly and Kate Moon all lead the characters and the audience to a crescendo of emotion which can only take place within the wild embrace of the Irish Sea.
Kate Moon is the heart of the story, tying all the elements together with a breathtaking performance of grief and acceptance. Even before the audience knows what has happened to the family, subtle, almost imperceptible changes in her expression convey a world of hurt when her daughter mentions her father. When she finally opens up to allow her grief to be heard by the sea, her considerable range is on show. Aoife Moon also shines as the wise daughter who carefully guides her mother towards a realisation she could not make on her own. Together, their actions towards each other say as much as their words.
Bottled Up is a masterclass in visual storytelling: the story may be small in scale and activity, but each action, done sparingly and with utter care by all involved, conveys so much to the audience that this smallness becomes immense. These are ten minutes which will take up a lot of space in my mind for a long time to come.
Bottled Up had their cast and crew screening this May, and will be bitting the festival circuit shortly.
