Written and directed by Spencer Anderson, co-written by Jamie B-Brown, in a forgotten world, Jordan must get his daughter April to a safe haven named ‘The Vale’. Starring: Ruby Rae, Oscar King, Cara Kealy and Jamie Langlands.
The dystopian element of April may be quite familiar, but it serves as a frame for what is the real heart of this story, which is the relationship between father (Oscar King) and daughter (Ruby Rae). There’s a good story to tell in there, as Spencer Anderson and Jamie B-Brown nicely build up layers and obstacles to the characters seeing eye to eye, and understanding one another.
Especially when it comes to children as they’ll typically translate their parents’ behaviour in the simplest manner, if it seems negative, they’ll assume that’s because of negative feelings towards them. That then creates a wall, and the parent has to recognise that, in order to knock it down. That’s what the journey of April captures.
It’s a great concept, however the majority of that doesn’t happen until quite late in the short, and it can be unsatisfying. In its final scenes, Ruby Rae and Oscar King share a tender, touching moment, and it’s a shame that didn’t come earlier in April, so that there was more time to expand upon it. It takes too long to truly connect with the audience, which limits its impact. Especially as the ending is really the crux of the story, and otherwise there isn’t a great deal happening.
The performances from Rae and King are solid, the latter can be a touch wooden at times, especially in the earlier scenes but the performance improves as April progresses. Rae does a great job, particularly for her age, capturing the different layers to her character and providing her with a struggle, as well as crafting a connection with King. The visual is similarly solid but the colouring could have used a little work to add some sharpness and texture. It can be somewhat flat, especially as they have that great woodland setting but don’t quite make the most of it. Although it is nicely topped by a gentle score.
April takes a little time to get going but ultimately reveals its big-hearted, warm nature. It’s a familiar story but its strengths lie in what’s underneath the plot. It moves a touch slow, and feels like it needed to get to the final scenes earlier and then allow them to play out longer, to create a more satisfying experience. As it’s those ending scenes that are truly its strongest, where it brings through a bigger sincerity and connection.
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