PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST 2024 REVIEW! Who hasn’t felt like an outcast or a loser at some point in life? Filmmaker Colleen McGuinness’s short film Loser follows a young woman named Alice (Angourie Rice) who is lost in life, sleepwalking through the mundane, such as her job at a frozen yogurt shop.
Alice is concerned that her life peaked in high school, as a friend suggested, and she seems to be in the midst of a depression because normal functions like waking up in the morning are too tall of a task. She talks about lying in bed late at night, obsessing over things, while we see flashes of various social issues on screen, such as homelessness, war, and mass shootings. The melancholy-sounding music soundtrack and score help set the downer mood.
We’re shown other little touches, such as the medication in her cabinet. Alice talks about showering simply so that others don’t think she’s depressed and not putting her hair in a ponytail since a friend said it looked like she stopped trying.
Alice has some opinions about her co-workers Arthur (Eric Cheung) and Lisa (Vera Briseño). Arthur is always jamming up the fro-yo machines and then pretending that it isn’t him. She also complains about the “dirty bracelet” that he always wears, even when he’s f*****g girls, as she so eloquently puts it. Lisa is a big flirt, but she’s quick-witted, so Alice likes her.
“…lost in life…”
Alice notes a weird red-headed customer (Andrew Block) who always makes things awkward while ordering the same thing every time. Alice has nicknamed him “Red.” She then thinks of all the places she would rather be and how she would buy everything in a drugstore if she could. Alice goes on to bemoan the fact that her niece is named Ballet (Ada Bland) and is in a class with a kid named Pathos.
The whole style of Colleen McGuinness’s film is quirky, and I dig it. It’s a bit reminiscent of Ghost World if that movie was only focused on one girl. Alice is smart and funny, but she’s in emotional pain, and we find out a reason for that is that her mom died two years ago. Subsequent drinking, random bar hookups, and sadness make sense, not that depression always has to have a strong reason.
Loser ends with a bang, literally. It’s something strong enough to wake Alice from her haze. An event so traumatic that, like the Trainspotting protagonist after it all, she wants to choose life. The final scene ends on a cliffhanger, but it’s no mystery that this film is expertly crafted and acted. Angourie Rice (Betty Brant in the recent Spider-Man trilogy) is magnetic, giving the feel of being able to carry a feature film as the lead.
The movie also deals with a couple subject matters that affect so many people, depression and gun violence. It brings both issues to the forefront in a visceral way that makes you feel a glimpse into the depths of despair. Loser is anything but its namesake.
Loser screened at the 2024 Palm Springs ShortFest.