“Antithesis,” a review of “Solace” by Nathan H. Box

Recommendation: 3/5 Stars, STREAM

Director: Tchaiko Omawale, Writer: Tchaiko Omawale, Starring: Hope Olaide Wilson, Chelsea Tavares, Lynn Whitfield

Plot: Following the death of her father, a 17-year-old girl is sent to live with her estranged family and finds comfort in a questionable friendship with a self-destructive neighbor, leading both on a startling path to self-discovery.

Review: For my sixth film of the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival, I set my sights on a film about a sick and dying father and the dutiful daughter at his side. When the unthinkable finally happens, the daughter, Sole, is sent to live with her estranged family in Los Angeles. By doing so, she begins a path of self-discovery that opens doors beyond her wildest dreams.

The vast majority of this film is focused on Sole and her battles. The demons waiting for a fight are numerous and take considerable energy. First, there is the fact that Sole uses food as a crutch. In moments of high stress, she finds herself binge eating without regard. Secondly, she is from New York and finds herself in LA living with a grandmother she barely knows, without friends, and a connection to the place she adores. Finally, she is a fish out of the water with hopes of going on to do great big things through nongovernmental work abroad. This makes her vastly different than those around her, isolated, and, lonely.

To shake these feelings, she reaches out to a self-destructive neighbor who is the antithesis of everything she is. By doing so, a couple of astounding transformations take place. First, working with her new neighbor, she begins creating protest art and finds something to believe in and focus her efforts. Second, she loses her sense of self. Her neighbor allows Sole to be her true self. Of course, there is a balance here. There is nothing wrong with being intensely focused on the future, but you can’t be so focused on gratifying the now that you give into self-destruction. Watching Sole walk this line, are some of the highest moments of drama in the entire film and make it a compelling piece to watch, discuss, and, debate.  

In the end, Sole learns valuable lessons which are then passed onto the audience. The body and beauty standards fed to us by society are false and we can’t do this life alone. We need a network of support. Watching Sole learn these lessons, is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. You can only hope that she will come out on the other side. This hope is why I recommend getting your hands on this movie.

Be good to each other,

-Nathan

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