The Closing Line (2020) is Ken Holmes‘ latest short film as “The Social Distancing Butterfly“, released this year. The story is a short cross-section of Whitney’s (Audrey Seybold) life narrated by those close to her. The short documentary problematizes a social ill, personal fragility, and the role of support/strong critical culture. The static camera zooms into characters and finally Whitney, but this minimalist approach has the significant effect of making the audience sympathize and probe Whitney and by extension, their own lives.
Film episodic structure starts with “the Confronter” part in which Whitney is harshly criticized for stealing others’ jokes. “Humor has fewer calories than alcohols.” The attack is one-sided and dialogues are pounding. Is this a deliberate strategy on Holmes’s part to make us think of her character or get our attention? The last episode, “the Forgiver,” partially responds to this choice, but the audience is somewhat left to make a judgment on it. Whitney suffers from alcoholism; drug, and it influences her ethics of work. Is there more to her story?
The second episode, “The Protector,” reverses the plot. Alisha provides another alternative and tries to debunk the earlier story. Whitney is not all to blame for her downfall. It may remind us of Kurosawa’s episodes and the murky nature of truth and storytelling. Alisha demands Whitney to leave the toxic relationship, but the other implied message is that the audience takes extra care to what they can trust and not. In the third episode, Whitney’s dad’s account provides more background, and it seems the pieces of a puzzle are on Whitney’s life and her job as a stand-up comic more intricate.
In the last episode, it is Whitney’s turn. She speaks directly to the camera with no sound effect, music, editing, and seemingly intervention. She admits that she feels lost, and she cheated and stole ideas. She wants to go back to her childhood and reconnect with her family. In the happy ending, she leaves the scene and bad habits and utters the words that she will not steal anymore- bygones are bygones.
The last scene and moments hint at Whitney’s fate and eventual course of life. She leaves the frame with the camera unmoved. She seeks a change in her life and departs the end. She intends to stay as a stand-up comedian but be true to herself and her talent. Holmes’s short film portrays the life of a single individual who is trapped in her web of bad relations and decisions. The camera exposes it and, at the same time, makes us see that she is not alone and she can still write her jokes and be happy. Frame after frame, word after word, the Closing Line yearns and approaches the illusive Truth.
Grade: B+
© 2020. UniversalCinema Mag.