Yeah, Love (Short)
“Yeah, Love” is about the courage it takes to follow your heart when it comes to your feelings towards another person, and the awkward, sometimes humiliating hurdles we have to jump over to do so. Emmily (Crystal Franceschini) is a shy high school junior who has an unrequited crush on Milo (Paton Ashbrook), a beautiful classmate who has all the guys lining up to date her. The one she’s dating now is Toby, a lacrosse player whom we first meet talking about Milo on a break in school. Though she doesn’t talk much to other people, we hear what Emmily is thinking through first-person narration by the film’s writer-director, Becca Roth. One day, while out with her dad (Timothy J. Cox), she sees Milo, and after the initial embarrassment of being seen with her dad, Emmily gets to talk to Milo, and the two walk home, cementing Emmily’s feelings for her. It’s time to act, but would they be reciprocated? Roth’s screenplay feels like something deeply personal for the filmmaker, and she brings it to the screen in a funny and very sweet way, with Franceschini embodying the awkwardness Roth is giving voice to on the soundtrack beautifully, with both actor and filmmaker contributing to a whole performance. It’s captivating to watch, and to see Emmily go through some pretty palpable emotional turmoil, and how it turns out for her in the end, is a truly enjoyable viewing experience.
