As magnificent as it is empowering, Mary Pat Bentel’s The Cockroach is a glorious drama that showcases the importance of support and resilience after a traumatic situation. Melissa Johns demands your attention in this short film.
After a body-altering accident, perfectionist Emily (Melissa Johns) tries to navigate and come to terms with her new reality.
Emily has naturally become insecure after her car accident, and all confidence that was there has been drained right out of her since her car accident. She is in a slow spiral by self-medicating with red wine on a nightly basis while struggling to keep on top of her mental and physical health. She has a support circle around her in the form of friends and family and even has a therapist to assist her through this difficult time in her life. Yet, she can’t get out of the bottom of that deep, doom-filled well she is stuck in.
Her one shining light in all of this is her daughter. While she will snap at her husband due to the strain of her situation, her daughter’s presence and need for a mother keep her going. Only one moment later in The Cockroach does she realise how much her daughter needs her mother.
There is so much to unravel in The Cockroach that it becomes a far more profound film than you first thought. It delves into the complexities of self-identity, self-worth, and the societal perception of disability. While on the outside, this is about a woman recovering from losing the bottom half of her arm, it is more about a woman reclaiming who she once was in various ways. We see Emily having doubts about her body and how she looks at herself. In her eyes, she is no longer sexy; she can’t pull it off. Her self-worth as a person, but importantly as a woman, has been lost with the doubts that she will ever recover it.
It’s also a film about loss, not just the loss of an appendage but of the possibilities that the future holds with it. Some aspects of Emily’s life have been altered forever, and she can never fully return to that way; she has to adapt; there is no other option for her. When we get to the end of The Cockroach, we see that this is also a film about women being there for other women.
In that studio, she thinks she is alone and out of sync with the rest, so she becomes overwhelmed. Yet, she isn’t alone. She is fighting this battle to get back to who she was, and those women around her can’t fight it for her, but they can be there to support her when she falters. That final scene is beautiful in its simplicity. All done wordlessly and visually, you understand every note that Bental is directing our way. A simple tucking of the right arm creates unforgettable magic on the screen, just a tremendous moment punched home by the greatness of Melissa Johns’s performance.
Johns is phenomenal throughout The Cockroach, but how she sells that dance and what goes through Emily’s head throughout those stages is utterly fantastic. The doubts are there in her stumbles and coordination until the realisation hits her that she can do this. It’s an utter joy of a performance from beginning to end as she brings the dramedy writing of Bentel to life with Emily. Little scenes, like her struggling with her PT while doing push-ups, have you ache and laugh. With hope, we see her in far more prominent roles in the not-so-distant future.
Mary Pat Bentel has managed to inject just the right amount of humour into The Cockroach without overriding the main message that she wants to convey. Considering the topic, her script needs to walk a thin tightrope. But with such controlled direction and a great lead in Johns, this was not going to struggle. It’s an absolute must-watch.
★★★★ 1/2
For more of our coverage of the HollyShorts Film Festival, please check out our reviews below.
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