Posies
She is stunning, desirable, an apparently flawless paragon of beauty, but under the skin there is another story waiting to be told for Maddy has learned to hide her imperfections, the fissures opening up in her body, the tears in her flesh she works to conceal, packing them with flower petals and covering them over as she prepares to face the world beyond her Bohemian apartment.
The only intrusion on her concentration the hostile voices of the chat show which blames women like her for all the world’s ills, she arrives to meet her boyfriend of two years, Jack, who says he is worried about her yet her is cold, angry that she has been ghosting him for weeks, aware that she is hiding something, their awkward conversation becoming a bitter unburdening.
Directed by Katherine Fisher and R H Stavis from Stavis’ script, Posies is a short film of the deferment of consequences from actions undertaken with full knowledge that the day will come when they can no longer be hidden by makeup and concealer, Maddy (Anna Diop) forced to carry not only her own guilt but becoming a vessel for the supposed sins of all women, blamed for all that is wrong in society, conditioned to feel like she is a monster.
Elegantly shot by Ante Cheng which frames the burgeoning body horror in moody dim lighting, the efforts of Jack (Andy Favreau) to be understanding and supportive are rebuffed with escalating cruelty, Maddy unburdening herself for her own sake rather than for honesty; carrying more than she can bear and numb to the point where absolution or oblivion are her only choices, is she truly nothing more than the sum of her flaws, her imperfections?
Posies is currently streaming on Alter’s YouTube channel
