Short Film Review: "Soul Mates" (2023)
Soul Mates Short Film Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released on Vimeo by Breaking the Cycle Films
Directed by Michelle Tomlinson
Written by Jim Sea
2023, 12 minutes, Not Rated
Hitting the film festival circuit in 2024
Starring:
Jim Sea as Sean
Kris Isom as Abby
Sydney Carvill as Poppy
Joshua C. Horton as Nigel
Ian A. Hudson as Jaime
Otgadahe Whitman-Fox as Barista
Terry Futschik as Nurse
Review:
You wouldn’t think it with all the horror and gore I consume on a regular basis, but I’m secretly a sucker for a well-crafted romance. After all, I’ve been with my soul mate for twenty-nine years come this Groundhog’s Day. I know what it means to have found that one person that gets you like no one else ever could. I live it every day. I feel it. You dig?
Romance works best when it hits on the real and the personal truths of long-time love, and Soul Mates does just that in a natural and honest way that will immediately have you thinking it might be time for a tissue or three. Sean and Abby are an older couple who are staring down the barrel of some awful news- Sean has six months to live. They sit over a charcuterie and some wine to discuss what to do with those six months. More importantly, they discuss how they’ll know each other in the next life. Will they know each other in the next life? Are they true soul mates?
Soul Mates approaches its subject matter from a plain and honest perspective; this isn’t fancy camera tricks and an overblown score. This is two people, each the center of the other’s universe, who are trying to process a life-altering finality. There’s an implied sweetness and familiarity that says simply, “We can’t change it. Let’s make the most of it.” That’s a wonderful thing to see handled so deftly by the two leads. It never feels contrived or corny, and that is so hard to do when it comes to romance filmmaking. Real life isn’t a Hallmark movie.
The short film’s second act is the payoff, and it’s equally emotional (though a tad more storybook). And that’s okay! It’s the ending that you are hoping for. These two actors have a palpable chemistry that shines through from the moment their eyes lock. You want the happy ending here; you want to believe that true soul mates exist. I, for one, have never doubted this. I found mine in 1995 and never looked back. Films like Soul Mates show you there’s hope to be had, and that’s a beautiful thing.
True love doesn’t die. It carries on.
