A young girl survives. A mysterious space "artifact" the size of a stadium has crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and the event has unleashed a force that causes all adults on the planet to degenerate and regress into mindless violence and lawlessness. A young girl we only know as Sweetheart finds herself in limbo as her mother and father descend into chaos and anarchy, their once-warm family dissolving into something much scarier. There is no refuge or safe harbor anymore, and Sweetheart must find a way to survive in this new world, both for herself and her baby brother. But to do that, she must accept and reconcile herself to the fact that parents she knows are gone for good -- something more easily said than done. Directed by Miguel Angelo Pate and written by Shane McGoey, this propulsive sci-fi/horror thriller short begins with a visual miasma of the world's ills. Like a modern Bosch painting comes to life, the agitated, fast-moving montage is rife with images of agitation, mayhem and destruction -- a sensory maelstrom before we finally settle on the small, delicate character of Sweetheart, who is as innocent and trusting as her nickname, though not unaware of the world's instability around her. Visually ambitious, quick and discomfiting in style, this opening reflects the modus operandi of the film in much the same way, situating a character study of innocence and heartbreak against a larger panorama of dystopian anarchy and chaos. Sweetheart's home is initially one of ordinary suburban contentment, almost archetypal in its normality and headed by her parents, played by actors Daniel Buran and Liberty Ross. But from the news on the TV to the discussion among the grown-ups to the father's preparation of a bunker, an unsettled feeling seeps into the film. As mysterious transmissions are received, the film takes its time building its atmosphere and its characters. Slowly, the images can shift from the gently lyrical to the eerie and sinister, as Sweetheart's parents slowly devolve into primitive husks of their former caring, conscientious selves. They're disturbed, violent and aggressive, but Sweetheart refuses to abandon hope and faith in the grown-ups around her at first, until shocking acts reveal they're no longer themselves, but instruments of a larger, more nefarious force. We never see this force, but the strength of the film's visceral, expressionistic storytelling evokes the transformation of the world from safety to danger. The film's most emotional arc rests mostly on the performance of its young lead, actor Caitlin Carmichael, who conveys both her essential gentleness and hopefulness and her growing distress over the disintegrating world around her. The tenor of the film goes more for dread than fast-moving suspense, but it gives us plenty of time as viewers to truly walk in Sweetheart's footsteps, as she keeps herself and her baby brother safe. But when she realizes the world is untenable -- and that her father's promise that they will always stay together can't be kept -- she realizes she must grow up, and quickly, in order to survive. It makes SWEETHEART a difficult, brutal coming-of-age in a desolate, hopeless world -- and perhaps a heightened, intense parable for the experiences of children helpless to affect the world around them. But there's still hope in their resilience and adaptability -- and in the fact that they, like Sweetheart, hold onto hope at all, despite the odds. SWEETHEART. Courtesy of Miguel Angelo Pate at
