By Dan Skip Allen

A couple of years ago, I saw a movie at my logical film festival here in Central Florida called “Ghostlight”. It was a surprisingly wonderful little indie film from a pair of directors named Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. Now they’ve made another movie, “Mouse” with a couple of the actors from that film. Kathrine Mallen Kupferer and Tara Mallen. They play mother and daughter in the film and their mother and daughter in real life. That’s an interesting dynamic that this movie has, among others. This normal relationship isn’t the only one. There are a few other unusual relationships in this movie that I think the audience will be surprised by. That’s one of the things that makes “Mouse” so interesting to me, among others.

Minnie Dunn (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Ghostlight is a normal teen girl who has a best friend Callie (Chloe Colerman, My Spy). They are as close as two friends can be in high school in Arkansas or any other state for that matter. They are into school productions and song and dance routines. They have a group of friends they hang out with, but mainly because they are drawn to Callie. She is the sun they all rotate around. While the two girls were separated coming up at the end of the school year, Callie is driving and gets into a bad car accident taking her life. This takes a toll on the group of friends but mainly the best friend played by Mallen Kupferer.  She takes this loss very seriously as she thinks some of the others don’t. 

In the circle of events that go on after this tragedy, a strange relationship forms. The Mallen Kupferer character forms a bond with her best friend’s mother, played by Sophie Okenado. She is one of her teachers at school, but she’s also a grieving mother. After a long summer, the kids and teacher return back to school with this tragedy hanging over their heads. An untimely meeting at a convenient store gives the two chances to talk, and they agree to a dinner at the mother of the friend’s home. After dinner, it’s brought up that the school kids are dedicating the school production in the new school year after Callie. This allows her mother and the Mallen Kupferer character to connect over a song routine she’s dedicating to her friend.

Another interesting relationship is formed after a quick meeting at a video store. The Mallen Kupferer character goes to return a dvd/blue ray and get a new one, and she’s confronted by and eventually smitten by Kat (Iman Vellani, Ms. Marvel) the clerk at the store. They eventually connect with similar losses in their lives, but there is an unspoken attraction between the pair. The Vellani character fills a void that the Coleman character left, but it’s an unspoken thing between the pair and people in the community. Arkansas isn’t exactly a popping gay and LGBT community that I know of. It’s more of a southern and religious state from what I’ve gathered from people who I know who live or lived there. This is a confusing thing, though, for a teen girl trying to find herself sexually. 

This story has a lot of layers to it, and the writers have developed a story with multiple characters that have subplots. This film deals with loss, a coming of age story of a teenage girl trying to find her identity and a subplot involving mothers trying to connect with their daughter. All the while having a school production trying to honor a friend and daughter. Okenado’s character has an emotional rollercoaster during the course of this movie. She has a lot going on with her and her relationship with the Mallen Kupferer character. Loss isn’t an easy thing to get over, and the two have a connection there that they can commiserate over. Okenado does emotion very well in her career. That is what makes her journey in this film so interesting. 

With “Ghostlight” there was a grounded realistic look to the movie. It was happening in real time in the place where you might live. That’s the same with “Mouse” ; it has a realistic look to it. A period feel even though it’s not a period piece film. The grainy feel gives the movie a bit of a lived-in look to it. The cinematography is very good in that sense. This is the vibe these directors are going for with this film and story. It’s different from the vibrant digital look a lot of movies are going with these days. Making movies on film is a lost art, and only so many different cinematographers are able to make it look this good.

Mallen Kupferer has done a handful of movies in her young career. She’s worked with her parents on a couple of those, but she has a knack for bringing an intricate performance no matter what kind of film she’s doing or who she’s working opposite with. She has some nice scenes with Coleman and Vellani. There is a genuine friendship that develops between these characters on screen when the script gives them good dialogue, and this one does that. She has the ability to play awkward or weird if you will on screen. That helps her character develop more. She’s going to keep getting better as an actress, especially when she gets different kinds of roles other than teenage girls coming of age in their young lives.

“Mouse” is a typical coming of age story, but it has a few layers of storytelling that makes it something else entirely. It has a subplot of grief and mothers trying to connect with their daughters. The performances all around are good. The cinematography gives the film a grounded realistic look to it. O’Sullivan and Thompson have made another movie with relatable characters, a story that makes sense, and the film that will give audiences all the feels. It’s a deep film on multiple levels, and I’m sure it’ll be one a lot of viewers will be engaged by it in more ways than one. I can’t wait to see this combination of creators do it again soon. This was a terrific watch even for this middle-aged man.

🌟🌟🌟1/2