Making a film isn’t an easy task. Trying to fit a tightly wound story within a limited timeframe is difficult even when the project is two hours long. But making a short film that tells a complete story? Well, that’s even more difficult. Just Right manages to successfully tell a story about visible and non-visible disabilities within its fifteen-minute timeframe.
Camille Wormser, who wrote and directed Just Right, stars as a woman named Mel who suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She’s grown accustomed to spending her life at home, unwilling to travel outside the safety of her front door. However, one morning, she decides she wants to do something different and seeks to join her friends as they go out for the day to a friend gathering that involves indoor skiing. At first, Mel seems disinterested, but she soon decides to give it a go.
After going through her daily routines, including trying out each seat in the living room, Mel sets out on her own in search of a latte. She ends up at a place called Cookie Good, where it’s evident she’s uncomfortable and eager to disappear behind others. When another customer comes in, she tries to have them go first, but they insist she proceed, which leads to a difficult conversation between Mel and the person at the counter. It soon becomes clear that Mel is uncomfortable making eye contact with new people and that she’s not good with ordering things on her own. It’s a very, very well-done scene that depicts some of the invisible handicaps people live with on a daily basis and the negative way the public tends to react to people that are “different.”
Upon receiving her drink, Mel sets out to meet up with her friends, Kyle (Jake Dvorsky) and Rene (Adam Turney), but soon realizes she’s running behind. Growing frantic, Mel ends up stopping to perform some of her daily rituals before sprinting off in search of her friends again. When she finally catches up to them, her entire demeanor changes. You can see the anxiety and uncertainty wash away as she becomes more comfortable within their presence. While some audience members might grow frustrated by the ending – or lack thereof – the way Wormser chooses to end the film is, well, Just Right.
We get to see Mel go through the ringer. From her excitement to her panic, to her calming sense of achievement. It’s a rollercoaster ride, one that can be uncomfortable and hard to watch, but is so important to see displayed on screen because of its accuracy.
