"You can't hide away like this forever."VIFF 2019—First-time filmmaker Anthony Shim's low-budget tragedy drama Daughter uses all the usual indie filmmaking methods to express its familiar story of a middle-aged man coping with loss. The Vancouver set and shot film follows well-known local actor/producer John Cassini's Jim, a suffering father, well on his way self-destructing through abusing sex and alcohol.
Shim hits all the depressive beats to unfold a standard story of experiencing loss through personal tragedy. Jim mourns his old family life he never really enjoyed by wandering the streets sadly seeking solace in the lost souls and facsimiles of intimacy he can find. Actress Teagan Vincze makes for an interesting foil to Cassini's soulful disgrace yet their unlikely bond recasts itself in troubling ways.
Shim and Cassini make their acting showcase work through sheer drama. The director relies heavily on his star to make Daughter a sad exploration of impersonal human connections and replacing interactions and meaning through vulnerability. There's a sensitivity to the film and its performances that brings Jim's dramatic suffering to relief despite the internal melodrama.
Daughter premieres at the BC Spotlight gala of the 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival as part of the Sea to Sky stream at the Vancouver Playhouse.
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