Lily follows the tribulations of a schoolgirl as she comes to terms with her sexuality. Actress Clara Harte gives a worthy portrayal of the title character.
An incident early on finds Lily in the bathroom with her best friend Violet - a trusted confidant who soon turns on her after a romantic encounter gets interrupted by a group of other schoolgirls. Lily is surrounded and subjected to a beating.
What follows, is a journey of self-discovery, where Lily finds solace in her friend Simon (Dean Quinn), a young gay man trying to find his own voice in society. He introduces Lily to Oonagh (Amy-Joyce Hastings). Oonagh mentors Lily and advises her to toughen up and to fight back. This includes coming to terms with her sexuality and being proud of it.
During the third act, Lily changes her appearance and confronts her main tormentor head on. One of my few criticisms is that this transition was far too sudden. We are presented with a character early on who is quite fragile and traumatized by the events around her.
To suddenly transform into a Goth like and fearless character seemed unrealistic, However, the message still holds true - don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and to be proud of who you are.
Ireland has come a long way in recent years. With the country becoming the first to approve same sex marriage in 2015 along with the annual Dublin Pride Parade, we are quite arguably predominantly a more liberal society and this kind of prejudice should be waning. Lily has done very well on the national and international festival circuit. The direction, writing and cinematography are of a high standard. The cast do an excellent job too to make this a well-rounded short.
7/10
An incident early on finds Lily in the bathroom with her best friend Violet - a trusted confidant who soon turns on her after a romantic encounter gets interrupted by a group of other schoolgirls. Lily is surrounded and subjected to a beating.
What follows, is a journey of self-discovery, where Lily finds solace in her friend Simon (Dean Quinn), a young gay man trying to find his own voice in society. He introduces Lily to Oonagh (Amy-Joyce Hastings). Oonagh mentors Lily and advises her to toughen up and to fight back. This includes coming to terms with her sexuality and being proud of it.
During the third act, Lily changes her appearance and confronts her main tormentor head on. One of my few criticisms is that this transition was far too sudden. We are presented with a character early on who is quite fragile and traumatized by the events around her.
To suddenly transform into a Goth like and fearless character seemed unrealistic, However, the message still holds true - don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and to be proud of who you are.
Ireland has come a long way in recent years. With the country becoming the first to approve same sex marriage in 2015 along with the annual Dublin Pride Parade, we are quite arguably predominantly a more liberal society and this kind of prejudice should be waning. Lily has done very well on the national and international festival circuit. The direction, writing and cinematography are of a high standard. The cast do an excellent job too to make this a well-rounded short.
7/10
