Beauty Queen (Short)
Nicholas Goodwin’s “Beauty Queen” is about a young woman who is insecure in who she is. Well, that’s how it feels, but I’m honestly not sure if that’s true. She knows who she is, she just doesn’t trust it based on what society tells her. That leads Christina (Christina Goursky) to make choices that go against who she really is, and she has to figure that out the difficult ways. Ok, yes, she is insecure, but she’s also smart and knows herself better than she thinks.
Goodwin’s film is focused and moving in how we follow Christina through a journey of emotional discovery when classmates seem to have a different idea of what matters in terms of female self-image than she does (is it more important to be considered “pretty” or “smart?”). We see her try to get a modeling job, which will lead her to a photographer’s studio to get some professional pictures done. We also see her in the morning with her father (Timothy J. Cox) discussing college. And we see her sitting in the halls, watching as more confident young women can just go up and talk to a boy in her class. Her time will come, and Goodwin makes sure it is a satisfying moment to watch.
Thank you, as always, for your support, Brian.