Femme Filmmakers Festival Review: Fifty-Four Days (Cat White, Phoebe Torrance)

Fifty-Four Days is a short film co-directed by Phoebe Torrance and Cat White (who also wrote the script). Coincidentally, this is the second film in the Femme Filmmakers Festival that connects grief to water. It’s even more of a coincidence that these are two of my favourites from the shorts I’ve reviewed at the time of writing.

Characters Ruby (Cat White) and Josh (Joshua Williams) lose their father on the night of his 54th birthday. I would never call losing a loved one to suicide expected. There is no set of circumstances that make this a reality that reads as logical to the processing mind. No matter how ‘fitting’ the lead-up to such an event might seem.

The opening scenes with their father are imbued with happiness and charm. On his birthday, he is pointedly fun and witty, celebrating 54 years with his family and loved ones. It’s integral that this scene occurs before we learn of his drowning. It’s a clean separation between his actions and his character, which is crucially honouring.

The editing after the fact is perfectly exemplary of how disconcerting the atmosphere becomes when receiving traumatic news. That depiction of tonal wrestling was incredibly emotive.

Ruby immediately takes up swimming in the body of water and chastises her brother for wanting nothing to do with this plight. The lake’s jetty, as it is first captured, shows how the characters’ emotions frame the film’s atmosphere. At first, it seems foreboding and sinister, but over time, it becomes sunny and inviting – eventually even empowering.

If there’s one thing about the film’s tone, it’s that every moment of this film feels bright and human. It has a vibrant pulse. The chemistry between all the actors is brilliant. I particularly loved Ruby’s interactions with unlikely friend Gloria. Gloria is a swimming mate Ruby discovers at the lake, the two have excellent chemistry when discussing subjects like wild swimming and their families.

Both siblings process their grief through different means. Misunderstanding one another creates the main conflict. I felt the symbolism of the siblings’ rituals to honour their father – sowing seeds versus immediately plumbing the depths – a very effective way of displaying how processing loss can differ. 

You can tell this film loves its characters. Despite tensions and things said out of turn, I was never terrified of characters becoming irredeemable or unforgivable. There’s a palpable empathy for the film’s complex core: a family tackling grief. 

The moving parts are all aided by the rich character design in place. Many of the innocuous details mentioned about characters support the viewing experience, providing little details that make you grow even more fond of this family unit. 

The film is raw, but ultimately very comfortable in its exploration of character conflict. I’m glad it found the light when put headfirst into subject matter that is, to most, impossibly dark.