Scrap

The reason why so many people struggle to get the hang of roller skating is that it’s counter intuitive. All the things which one might normally do to try and steady oneself, like leaning forwards, aligning one’s feet or throwing out one’s arms, make it easier to fall. The only way to find one’s balance is to relax and let go. Beth (played by writer/director Vivian Kerr) glides across the rink like a swan on a lake. Her brother Ben (Anthony Rapp) flounders, quickly losing his balance. He doesn’t get out of there without serious bruising – but in life, it’s the other way around.

When we first meet Beth, she’s sleeping in her car. It’s too nice a vehicle for her to have been poor for long, and she tidies herself up with make-up from an expensive box in a shade of rose gold only recently adopted. She has a working phone and some smart clothing which she changes into to attend a job interview. In short, she has far from hit rock bottom, and she has plenty of options, but she doesn’t seem inclined to pursue them. The way she cleans her teeth and gets a shower tell us that she has been doing this for long enough to pick up a few things, and we soon learn that it has been a while since she dropped off her daughter, Birdy (Julianna Lane), at Ben’s house.

Beth hasn’t told Ben that she’s lost her home and job, but after things get worse, she claims to be in the middle of moving house and uses it as an excuse to move into his place. It’s terrible timing. Ben’s partner Stacy (Lana Parrilla) is going through a second cycle of IVF, with all the attendant medical unpleasantness, mood-altering medication and stress. She’s exhausted and could do without having additional people to look after, Beth being at least as much trouble as the sweet-natured Birdy. She and Ben are in the agonising position of trying to care for Birdy without getting too attached, wanting to do right by Beth and hoping that she will pull herself together and become a functional parent again, but knowing that that will mean the kid will leave.

Kerr’s film, which recently screened at the Phoenix Film Festival, has more going on upstairs than most Los Angeles-set stories about drifters, or which there are a great many every year. It falters in places, such as in its mocking treatment of fantasy fans (Ben is a writer), whom she clearly knows nothing about, but where it focuses on the complexities of sibling relationships and different kinds of parenting, it’s strong. Although the characters are all insulated by money (access to other people’s if not their own), one feels for them, and Kerr gives us glimpses into the lives of those who have it harder. Scenes in which Beth is treated very differently by the same man when he encounters her in different circumstances pass without comment but leave their mark on the film.

Whilst it’s tempting to class this as a coming-of-age piece, all three leads have fully developed arcs, and the relationship between Ben and Stacy is well observed and tender. Rapp in the standout in a role which really lets him make the most of his talents. Though it’s her first feature length work as director, Kerr handles the film with confidence, keeping it smooth enough on the surface for us to appreciate the turbulence underneath. The result is worth checking out.