Melissa Stanton (Ghostlight, The Day From Hell, Inner Monologue) directed the drama animated film “The Power Of Grief.” Based on a true story, the film is an emotional journey through the mind of a daughter who lost her beloved mother. Melissa Stanton penned as well as starred in her film. Elliot Stewart stars as the nurse in the film. This was made for the Bristol 48hr puppet film challenge.
Director’s Cut
Melissa Stanton is a British filmmaker, puppeteer, actor and singer. She is best known for the critically acclaimed short films “Ghostlight, A Lockdown Film,” and “Turn Of Fate.” Her latest film “The Power Of Grief” became a finalist in the Best Animation Film category of the Elegant International Film Festival.
Overview
The film starts with the sudden demise of the unnamed daughter’s mother. The film wonderfully showcases the grief with powerful dialogues with puppetry. Melissa Stanton meticulously shows us the love-hate relationship between her and her real mother. The monotonous visuals depict the situation of the daughter who is left alone in the world.
Review
The film showcases different polaroid pictures of Melissa Stanton and her real mother with a voiceover in the background about the love-hate relationship between the mother-daughter. She goes on describing how she took care of her sick and bed-ridden mother and played songs of Elvis Presley. How Melissa;s mother terrified her with plastic spiders when she was a child. She also went on saying how generous her mother was even after many flaws. She rescued twelve dogs and three cats.
The last shot is the director sitting on her chair in her garden and drinking. There is a sense of peace on her face. This depicts that she finally accepts that her beloved mother is at peace now. Death is inevitable and one should accept that. Then only we can get peace.
Conclusion
Overall, Melissa Stanton helmed the animated short drama “The Power Of Grief” depicts an emotional journey down the memory lane. Melissa Stanton’s wonderful storytelling with emotional dialogues adds another layer to the overall film.
The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author. The above writing is completely based on the author’s own perspective.
