Marie (Caroline Harvey) is preparing for her first day as a Social Care worker–for which she is excited. However, when the first family she deals with is challenging, far more so that she could have imagined, her opinion of her profession and the people with which she comes in contact begins to change. As the struggle begins to be too much to handle, Wednesday’s Child refuses to relent, and Marie is at the receiving end of the trouble.
What a brilliant name! Wednesday’s child is full of woe–and that’s perfectly represented throughout the course of Wednesday’s Child. The title alone invites viewers into the film and allows them to understand what they are in for. It’s a nice piece of lore from the nineteenth-century poem “Monday’s Child;” and this little tidbit, while it opens viewers’ to exactly what’s to come, is also a nice nod to another piece of art and a bit of whitty history.
Wednesday’s Child reminds me so much of Andrea Arnold’s films. It focuses on the drab simplicity of everyday life. While that’s something people often want to escape when sitting down to watch a film–there’s something calming when you watch a film and feel like your life is a part of the journey. Seeing the same challenging things that you face every single day is actually quite welcoming, knowing that your life is somehow being considered during the production of the film. Wednesday’s Child does these things, and it presents viewers with a look into the things that they know and are comfortable with. They see themselves in the narrative, and they are able to understand Marie’s story as a result.
Wednesday’s Child possesses a massively important narrative about family life–but it’s not the big picture that allows the narrative to resonate with viewers, it’s the subtle nuances and minor details that allow things to come to life in this film. The subtle changes in facial expressions, the use of a cigarette, and the like all play a role in bringing this story to life and allowing viewers to understand the severity of what is being said and done throughout. This is another great reflection of the real world, as it’s not always the big things that bog us down and that make life a struggle–but rather the small things that add up. Wednesday’s Child, in a lot of ways, is a study of the real world, not just a reflection of it. It often appears that Writers Charliegh Bailey and Harvey, along with Director Laura O’Shea, are analyzing the things that happen in the real world, that happen in our day-to-day travels, and then using what they’ve found to propel their film forward. It’s a challenging way to approach a film, and if that’s the case, kudos to them for being able to bring Wednesday’s Child to life in the way in which they did.
Wednesday’s Child is a challenging film to pull off, because it’s not some far-fetched science-fiction journey, and it’s not a story that seems off the beaten path–but rather it’s almost a mirror image of what occurs in the real world each and every day. Andrea Arnold is maybe the person who’s best been able to capture the reality of life in her short films (films like Wasp and Dog)–but this crew is able to create something eerily similar in terms of tone and accuracy. I hope they understand that this is a massive feat, and that Wednesday’s Child is wonderfully successful as a result.
Directed by Laura O’Shea.
Written by Caroline Harvey & Charleigh Bailey.
Starring Charleigh Bailey, Caroline Harvey, Fionna Hewitt-Twamley, Lauren Kinsella, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
Comments