Isn’t It Called True Love? A Portrayal Of Loss & Regret

There aren’t sufficient words to describe the depth of someone’s loss. The lingering memory is all there is left to live with. Writer-director Seaning’s Isn’t It Called True Love? is a tragedy that explores the consequences of miscommunication, loneliness and vulnerability. Visceral, raw and bare in its depiction, the 10:10-minute long film underscores the relevance of open communication, the gnawing loneliness that is ironically driving everyone apart and the melancholy of having everything at one’s fingertips and yet beyond reach.

Harry (Jordan Edwards) and Eden (Madeline Mangos) are together, in a world that is increasingly fragmented. Their meet-cute, a befitting setting against a party beautifully captures the juxtaposition of the contemporary world. We don’t lack modes of communication. Distance is no longer a deal breaker. And, yet, despite everything, the fabric of our social world is as worn out as it can get. Edwards puts forth a performance that is believable and empathetic. As a viewer, there’s an instant connect that you feel to his despair and helplessness. Unsurprising then, that, Mangos’s portrayal of Eden seems almost like an extension to the audience’s response to him. 

Opting for a non-linear timeline, Seaning does the smart thing of letting his audience feel the emptiness and discomfort that his characters live with. There’s hope intermittently laced with despair and utter devastation. The editing, also by Seaning, which requires a special mention takes the short to another level as it expertly switches between memories and imagination, fantasy and reality, leaving the audience with the uncomfortable truth of what has happened. There are little to no dialogues, only a seamless conversation that is so honestly delivered between the two leading characters, that it leaves little room for guess work. The chemistry between Edwards and Mangos is palpable, making their vulnerability accessible. As Harry and Eden, they bring to screen two broken individuals who try to be the salve to a gaping wound, so much so that, you want to reach out to them and tell them that it’s okay to be broken, there is still hope.

That is the true beauty of Isn’t It Called True Love?, as it lets its audience in, into the broken world of Harry and Eden as they navigate through the rigmaroles of their relationship like everyone else, but with fragmented pieces of their own selves. Isn’t It Called True Love? is a case study of the human minds, the defeated spirits and the unbearable weight of loss that we all carry. A film that is perhaps not meant for the fainthearted but certainly written keeping them in mind. It is sensitive, crisply edited and soft in its approach to a topic that needs more attention, especially now more than ever.

A must watch!

Watch Isn’t It Called True Love? Short Film Trailer