A mother (the director and writer’s real mother, Toni Meyerhoff) is disabled and relies upon her daughter (Emma Galvin) to take care of her in this slice-of-life short film. The daughter is starting to get obsessed with the idea that she may be facing the same disability herself, and when she tries to tell her fears to her boyfriend (Peter Corrie) all he wants to do is have sex. That’s a lot of pressure for a young girl, so she does what most people would do in that situation — she starts to go a little mental.
“Twitch” is a story about fear, love and an uncertain future. Galvin deftly portrays a girl who longs for a childhood she knows she can never have because she was forced to grow up too quickly. She can convey both innocence and maturity with just a look, and her future in films is solid. Writer/director Leah Meyerhoff has also secured her place in film with this short movie, too, which may be a bit autobiographical in nature. She’s done a story that is as honest as it is touching, and there is nothing sickly sweet about it. Her ability to sum up a young girl’s life in ten minutes is remarkable, and it makes the film.
If there is any complaint to be had here, it is that Galvin’s character has so many more layers that we never get to see but desperately want to. We only get to touch the surface of what’s going on in her mind. Maybe someday in the future Meyerhoff will revisit this character, but if not, she has still made a film well worth watching.
