By Omeleto
.
.
Lacey is a young woman and mother visiting her father Richard in a maximum security prison. Lacey is familiar with the routine and has been there before, many times. She puts on a guarded, unruffled demeanor, though certain moments — a snide remark from a guard, or the knowing glances of the other visitors — throw her off at times.
But then she settles into her visit with her father, both talking into phone receivers as a pane of glass separates them. Lacey listens to her father as he chats about his new lawyer, his hopes of a reduced sentencing, and his entreaties for Lacey to rustle up the entire family to visit for Easter. As Lacey loses patience with her father’s delusions, she demands the truth from him. And what she discovers alters her relationship with him forever.
Written and directed by Camille Hollett-French, who also plays Lacey, this powerful, intimate drama is a perfect example of how intricate, resonant storytelling can be contained in perfectly wrought writing and performance. The interplay between what characters say and what they hide is the perfect scaffolding for a fraught, fractured father-daughter dynamic to play out, complicated by the secrets and horrors they know between them.
Told in an intimate, naturalistic style, the film begins with a few small but telling scenes to set up Lacey and the film’s dramatic situation, but then settles into a classic two-hander between the two main characters. The camerawork and pacing seem casual and offhand, but as the dialogue unfurls between father and daughter, each devastating detail reveals a remarkable discipline in the storytelling that keeps the film subtle but raw and the pacing suspenseful.
Richard reveals himself to be a seemingly loving father, but telling remarks reveal his perception of himself as innocent and a victim of circumstance. Each evasion and conversational feint seems to test Lacey’s patience as well as draw viewers in, as Richard continues, even in prison, to avoid taking responsibility for what he’s done. And what he’s done isn’t fully revealed until Lacey finally loses patience with Richard, and demands to know how Richard’s crime has affected the others in their family, as well as herself.
As Lacey, Hollett-French builds a conflicted character, and her expressiveness and ability to convey deep emotions with few words make it clear that she is both furious with him and yet still a loving daughter with some fragile hope about his character. As Richard, actor Bill MacDonald carries off a difficult role, playing both the weakness and entitlement of the criminal predator but also a man desperate for connection with his daughter. It’s a riveting performance, evoking why Lacey still loves him so much — but also why she must leave him behind.
“Her Story No. 2: Hush Little Baby” is part of a series of shorts by Hollett-French, each dealing with shame, self-expression, identity and sexuality. Though it deals with thorny, difficult and traumatic emotional subjects, the film is unforgettable because it also acknowledges just how a child’s love for their parent is palpably enduring, even when the parent is a monster in many ways. It’s this love that makes the film so wrenching — and such parental betrayal so agonizing and painful to watch.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
0:09
good
0:16
hey lacey
0:18
bree
0:20
doesn’t get any easier
0:24
thanks
0:25
officer
0:27
bentley
0:28
been here two minutes and you got a new
0:30
best friend
0:32
i’ve been here before actually
0:34
now well i’ve been here
0:45
end of the hole thanks
0:48
you know how this works
0:51
sir
0:53
sir
0:55
sir
1:05
you’re like this close okay well i was
1:07
drinking really hard
1:09
yeah well whatever
1:16
[Music]
1:24
there’s these two muffins in an oven
1:27
one muffin says to the other
1:30
you come here often
1:31
the other muffin says
1:33
holy [ __ ]
1:35
a talking muffin
1:51
actually it kind of does
1:54
just like it’s in the movies just as
1:56
glamorous too
1:58
the new place
2:02
uh
2:04
small
2:05
you mean intimate
2:09
without a seller for cash but i uh i
2:12
guess it’s all tied up huh
2:14
i don’t know she hasn’t really talked
2:15
about that stuff with us
2:17
well she’s got the money on all that
2:18
because i made it
2:20
randy
2:22
he took forever it’s like he’s sipping
2:24
champagne eating grapes out of the pods
2:26
of babes like some greek god for
2:28
christ’s sake what was he thinking about
2:29
the whole year what was he doing
2:31
it’s a lot to get through
2:34
yeah well
2:35
i got a new guy on the film
2:38
yeah i um
2:40
i got him the letter
2:42
well right right yeah
2:43
he doesn’t come around here much but
2:46
i got a good feeling about him
2:48
him and your mother are going through
2:50
the
2:51
finances and
2:54
the semantics semantics it’s always
2:56
semantics i i don’t get that
3:00
anyways that’s that’s parent stuff
3:05
so hey sweetie
3:07
this film guy
3:08
thinks that it might be way less than we
3:10
think he thinks he might be able to file
3:11
it back to court
3:13
and get it bumped down to three years
3:15
max
3:18
they don’t treat these things like real
3:20
crimes like murder or anything he thinks
3:22
he might be able to get me off
3:23
scotch-free
3:24
again
3:27
scot-free
3:28
well they all got their [ __ ] together
3:30
and they let him argue with wright he
3:32
might be able to prove it was just a
3:34
mix-up
3:37
i mean you
3:39
you click on one thing you click on
3:40
another with these systems these
3:42
computers
3:44
you’re just chatting online i mean
3:47
how was i supposed to know who i was
3:49
talking to and phil
3:50
says it wasn’t even years like they said
3:52
that they treated
4:01
you should hear this place at night the
4:03
screaming and the fighting
4:06
like gladiators
4:07
like the shining
4:09
remember the night
4:11
we watched the shining blood poured
4:13
through the hallways
4:16
and your mum came home oh
4:18
remember mike was so mad
4:30
that guy’s nuts
4:32
you know
4:34
at easter
4:37
they let people visit families
4:42
it would be really
4:45
pretty nice if you could get everyone
4:46
over your brother and your sister
4:49
they’re always a partying adjacent god
4:52
jason’s always working working working
4:55
jay got laid off
4:58
get your mother over
5:00
dad
5:01
did you hear me jason got fired
5:10
can’t wait to see how big she’s going
5:12
i’m not bringing lily here
5:16
she’s too young to be in prison
5:24
i’d love to see how big she’s become
5:27
anyway get so cold here in the weather
5:29
i’d ask you to bring me a big comfy
5:31
blanket
5:34
there’s guys in here
5:36
i get things sent in razor blades and
5:38
hats and scarves from their grandmothers
5:41
this one guy
5:44
he had this
5:45
blanket wool
5:47
he could tuck things away and they’re
5:48
thick
5:50
but they don’t allow that anymore
5:53
criminals
5:54
ruining it for the rest of us
5:57
i’m pretty sure that’s not true yeah it
5:59
is just like in the movies and stuff not
6:01
in maximum security dead well i can
6:04
dream can i let my little girl bring me
6:06
some homemade macaroons
6:09
maybe take me some easter eggs but uh
6:21
honey
6:23
what’s wrong
6:28
is it money
6:43
if i ask you something dad do you
6:45
promise to tell me the truth sure
6:49
i promise pinky swear pinky promise
6:54
no not a [ __ ] pinky swear dad
7:02
love when you come to see your old dad
7:03
here i look forward to it but i don’t
7:06
like when you come here and give me [ __ ]
7:16
have you ever done anything to lily
7:26
never
7:29
or whatever
7:35
what about sarah
7:40
or jay
7:52
me
8:02
i keep
8:06
i keep trying to remember and
8:11
i
8:13
they say sometimes people block it out i
8:15
don’t know i read a couple articles
8:18
i can’t remember
8:26
please daddy i just meet the truth hey
8:34
no
8:37
and lily lily you swear
8:46
have you ever even just
8:48
thought of us like that
9:06
i’ve got a sickness lee
9:10
that i can’t control
9:23
my god
9:37
what is that
9:39
on your shoulder your neck what is that
9:41
what how did you get that
9:55
there’s some
9:57
guys in here that aren’t
10:04
there’s some guys in here
10:09
they’re not that nice to guys they think
10:11
might have heard kids i didn’t hurt
10:13
anyone
10:16
but just the thought that i might have
10:19
even if you lie to them they don’t
10:20
believe that’s the possibility
10:24
they keep me alone
10:41
daddy you’re all black
10:44
and purple
11:02
uh
11:25
i have to go
11:36
i love you so much
11:39
i love
11:40
and you
11:42
i’m so sorry
11:44
i’m sorry i’m sorry
11:47
i have i have to go
12:16
so
12:59
so
13:41
you
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
 |
 |
 |
 |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock
