By: Malasha Parker
Seahorse is a thoughtfully crafted narrative feature about loss, loneliness and disappointment. Aisha Evelyna directs and writes a complex story on mental health, unhoused individuals and the familial conflicts that contribute to it. From a script with layered characters, Seahorse takes viewers on a journey through grief, longing and understanding. Unfortunately, it almost hits the mark, but doesn’t quite get there. However, the film is a nice feature that shows Evelyna’s genuine ability for storytelling and promise of growth.
Nola (Aisha Evelyna) is a sous chef in Toronto with a rude and exhausting boss. Her best friend Adelaide (Ruth Goodwin) is also the owner of the restaurant. She’s trying to balance life and being in one of the top positions at the restaurant. She comes in after missing the grand opening of the restaurant and the service doesn’t go well. When she goes to take the trash out she comes upon an unhoused man digging through the trash. After having flashbacks of moments, Nola realizes that it is her dad (Joseph Marcell) as she spent time with him when she was younger. She sees him again and follows him, meeting up and telling him that she thinks he should stay with her. She takes him back to her unpacked apartment and they share a meal for the night. The next day Cyrus, her father, is ready to return to his life living in a tent with the other unhoused people. Nola wants to have a life with her father now, but things are different. As Nola is missing work again, Cyrus goes to the restaurant and gets kicked out by her horrible boss. Adelaide tells her an incident happened, so they try to get Nola to sign an incident report. But Nola sees the video of her boss, Rob (Brett Donahue), attacking her dad, causing Nola to spiral and leave in search of the hospital he’s been taken to. When she finds him she looks for him by asking about his care and cleaning him up while they wait on the doctor. Nola struggles with wanting him back in her life, even with the past looming over them. In the end, she decides it’s not a relationship she can stay around for and when she tries to leave her father reacts by grabbing her. She has flashbacks of disagreements they had when she was younger. She spirals again and the people in her life step in to help her see how she’s also hurting them. The conclusion is a sad one, but it also shows a beautiful moment.
Aisha Evelyna writes, directs and stars as the main character in Seahorse. This is a difficult thing to execute well and while I do not think Seahorse is perfect, Evelyna’s acting is sincere and raw. This is easy to see in the way she pays attention to the micromovements that add something unique to the character. Additionally, Marcell delivers a complex character that has had a tumultuous life. The directing and writing can seem erratic at moments when many plot points start to move at once as is the case with the flashbacks happening at the time of her looking for her father after having such a quick escalated scene. This just doesn’t flow as well as it could.
Seahorse is an interesting drama that looks into the minds of mental health issues along with the plight of the unhoused community. Though the sentiment to share how unhoused people are disregarded backfires by Nola ultimately creating a scenario where she does the same, it still starts a conversation that is much needed. While this is not a flawless feature, it is one that will evoke emotions and make the audience remember the performances.