Esme, My Love is a lyrical fever dream from director & co-writer Cory Choy. One that explores the complicated relationship between a mother and daughter.
When Hannah notices the symptoms of a terminal and painful illness in her aloof daughter, Esme, she decides to take her on a trip to their abandoned family farm in a desperate attempt to connect before they have to say goodbye.
As their trip progresses, the true nature of their relationship is called into question. Esme seems reticent to call Hannah “mom” or “mother”. Simply Hannah. Similarly, Hannah is conflicted in relation to Esme, seemingly mistaking her for her sister Emily whose history is a closely guarded secret.
The film only contains two actors, Audrey Grace Marshall and Stacey Weckstein as Esme and Hannah respectively. Despite it being a two-hander, both actresses are able to showcase an incredible range of emotions and characterisations due to the different interpretations of the characters in the mind of the other.
Choy does a commendable job of building a disquieting sense of unease and impending dread as the relationship between the two becomes increasingly fractured and dangerous. The cinematography is beautiful and draws the audience into their world and their story. Only to use sound and the score to keep the audience off-balance.
Now there is keeping an audience off-balance and at arm’s length until the big reveal and everything falls into place. Not every film has to tie everything up in a neat bow by the end credits. There can be a level of ambiguity where it provokes discussion and theories between audiences following the screening. The issue here is that the film’s truth is so well hidden, it accidentally builds a wall between itself and the viewer.
There is nothing tangible enough to grab on to. Something that would provide that connection or emotional investment. Instead the deeper down the rabbit hole, the colder and less engaging the experience becomes.
It is a film that demands multiple viewings. From a technical standpoint, there is a lot to admire here. The problem is that Esme, My Love might prove too alienating to entice people back.
Rating: 
Director: Cory Choy
Stars: Audrey Grace Marshall, Stacey Weckstein
Runtime: 105 minutes
Country: USA
