No Right Way

WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! In writer/director/star Chelsea Bo’s feature-length drama, No Right Way, no matter how much the family tree branches out, the same problems always seem to find a way to infect each limb.

Rising through the ranks of her dream job, Harper’s (Chelsea Bo) life is suddenly flipped on its head when she gets a call from Child Protective Services to come pick up her half-sister Georgie (Ava Acres). Harper and Georgie share the same father, who is on a business trip halfway around the world. This means Harper must be the responsible adult and take custody of Georgie as her drug-addicted mother, Tiffany (Eliza Coupe-Marks), tries to piece her life together and properly provide for her children to get them back. Having a sense of familial duty, Harper not only takes Georgie in to live with her in Los Angeles but realizes that Tiffany is in no condition ever to take her back. So Harper schemes with her father to gain full custody of Georgie.

That’s the overriding narrative. No Right Way is a narrative about two estranged half-sisters trying to find some kind of connection with one another. What the two have in common is a father who was never really around. Harper feels a sense of duty to give Georgie the family life that she never had. On the other hand, Georgie desperately tries to return to the life she knew before her mother hooked up with her drug-dealing boyfriend.

“…Harper must be the responsible adult and take custody of Georgie…”

The filmmaker has a smart script on her hands, spotlighting the vast age gap between sisters and the roots of their dysfunctional upbringing. Harper is the independent one of the two who has learned how to cope with her upbringing and move on with life. She feels she can “save” Georgie and be the caregiver that she needs. But like the once dysfunctional teen, Harper uses the tactics and coping mechanisms she learned to her detriment.

Bo has an amazing handle on Harper. She plays her conflicted, wanting to do what’s right and finding the wrong way to go about it. Acres is perfect casting as the Gen Z teen who doesn’t know what she wants in life and has buried herself in layers of various hang-ups to avoid having to confront her situation or the truth.

Also, as a low-budget movie, No Right Way utilizes handheld cameras to peer in on the action. The look of the production feels grounded and lends to the plot’s authenticity. If there is a negative, the conflict resolution is a bit too clean, but I love how the post-credit scene sets up the ability to tell more of Harper and Georgie’s story.

No Right Way is a beautifully written and produced film of half-sisters from a perspective we don’t always see. It’s insightful and, best of all, heartbreaking.

No Right Way premiered at the 2023 Cinequest Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival.