Gossamer, from writer-director Hamish Sturgeon, is a short film about two people who can’t run from their past as their present falls apart around them.
There’s a knock at the door, and Shirley (Natalie Mitchell) slowly inches toward knowing exactly what she’s going to hear. The bank is foreclosing on the house, and the eviction process is already underway. She’s agoraphobic, so leaving is not an option. She pleads to stay, but her pleas don’t matter. That night, she escapes into dreams of a different life as a glamorous actress from the golden age of cinema.
Cut to Jack (Hamish Sturgeon), holed up in the same house, panicking. He can’t get himself to the door. Jack and Shirley used to be partners — the film never spells out exactly what kind — but it certainly wasn’t a healthy one. He felt bullied by Shirley, who wore him down and blamed him for losing the house. This feeling of failure keeps Jack from confronting reality, instead finding comfort in the one he built in his head.
Jack (Hamish Sturgeon) breaks down on a phone call in Gossamer.
“The bank is foreclosing on the house, and the eviction process is already underway.”
In Gossamer, Hamish Sturgeon isn’t going for a straightforward narrative with easy answers. Sturgeon stars in this tale with Natalie Mitchell as Shirley, both giving haunting performances. The film plays more like a song, built from grief, disappointment, and the fear of stepping into a world where your entire identity is on display, and you have no say over it. There’s no heavy-handed exposition as Sturgeon conducts this orchestra using emotion as his instruments.
Sturgeon put it best: “I’ve always been drawn to characters who are trying to reconcile who they are with who they think they should be, and this film grew from that idea.” Essentially, it’s about how we see ourselves, how we wish we saw ourselves, and what the rest of the world sees in us.
"…your entire identity is on display, and you have no say."
