A woman is left alone after her thoughtless, potentially cheating boyfriend leaves on a worktrip. Here’s our review of Three Things We Won’t Talk About, which played at HollyShorts London Film Festival.
We’ve all had a partner who refuses to replace the toilet roll after they use the final piece, leaves their hair in the sink or who can’t hide their true opinions of our wardrobe or make-up. In director Jessie Craig Roche’s short Three Things We Won’t Talk About, a woman finds herself at a breaking point.
It’s a bold film. A commanding voice announces the title as well as the titular three things. The woman, played by Jessamine-Bliss Bell, is left alone after her boyfriend suddenly leaves for an overnight work trip, promising to call her later. The woman then decides to go out to meet one of their mutual friends.
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She practises greetings in front of the mirror, meticulously doing her make-up. Is her ‘hello’ too perky? Is the lipstick too distractingly red? What’s the right smile to flash when she walks through the door? It’s a situation this writer has been in far more times than I’d like to admit, but there’s also something universal about the woman’s overthinking and overall mood. It’s like she knows things are wrong, but also that they’re not. After all, your boyfriend not replacing the toilet paper is hardly evidence of a bad romance, right?
Three Things We Won’t Talk About is classified as a psychological horror on the HollyShorts website, but the film itself defies any easy categorisation. It’s uncomfortable for sure, but it’s hugely subjective too. We’re never quite sure if what the woman is experiencing with her partner is objectively true or just her own insecurities playing with her head. There’s no real resolution – nor conflict if you think about it – so Three Things We Won’t Talk About might prove to be a frustrating experience some.
If you find yourself on the film’s wavelength, it does manage to say something about losing yourself in a less than perfect relationship.
Three Things We Won’t Talk About screened as part of the HollyShorts London Film Festival 2024.
