My Name Is Emily

Emily (Evanna Lynch) feels lost in the world. After her mother's death, her father Robert (Michael Smiley) deteriorated mentally and forced into an institution. Emily was placed in foster care. In the new school, teachers keep asking, "What is wrong with you?" The kids think she's weird except Arden (George Webster) who is head over heels for her. It's her birthday and the expected card from her father has not arrived. She enlists Arden in her mission to save her father.

Evanna Lynch is most well-known as Harry Potter's Luna Lovegood. This one is a similar flighty, ethereal character. She is quite compelling playing this type of role and has a certain magnetic charisma. George Webster is a relative newcomer and presents a very appealing actor. Most of this works well as a teen romance and road trip. At a certain point, the story struggles to do something more than the simple formula. The father's story could have been more emotional. For all the possibilities, the danger to him fizzles. It becomes something interesting about the father daughter relationship but it could have been more dramatic. Its potential is not fully realized but it's good nevertheless.

I'm not aware of Fitzmaurice's cultural background: judging his first feature film on the basis of the level of theoretical depth that it (apparently) expresses would be consequently unfair. But "My name is Emily" - as far as we know - is one of the most elegant examples of complex theoretic inclusions within a classic drama movie format.

Film language is quite complex with its multimedia semiotics: it's hard to find mainstream films with both an attention to deep conceptual problems and some "watchability" value (no, I wouldn't consider Matrix an example...). This is of course not due to the lack of great writers/directors but to the nature of the language itself which is in some sense too rich, redundant and ambiguous: life-like.

So here we have a sort of meta-allegory of Plato's cavern allegory (and its social consequences) which doesn't sound boring or book-like, involves likable characters and has a solid plot. Furthermore photography depicts charming corners of Ireland and the actors did an honest job.

However all in all the film feels weak, not enough daring (and caring) and with too many unnecessary minutes here and there: lots and lots of details that sound rushed or amateurish.

The writer (and director) has for sure something interesting to say but despite its merits "My name is Emily" is quite forgettable.

This movie won't be from everyone, but it is for me. Evanna Lynch recently almost won Dancing with the Stars. She was robbed by the way, but I digress. After watching her dance, I was intrigued to see what she's done since her Harry Potter days. I found "I Am Emily." I realized I saw this film a few years ago. I decided to watch again. As I was viewing this film, I thought that this is the kind of project I would like to be involved in one day. It was beautifully shot in Ireland. It was something unusual that totally took me to a different world for an hour and forty minutes. As Emily's dad says in the movie, "it's OK to be weird". It was definitely OK that this movie was weird and unusual. I found myself mesmerized by Lynch's character. George Webster also had a very strong performance. Without giving away spoilers, I will just say I loved the decisions his character made in this film. Evanna dedicated one of her dances in Dancing with the Stars to the director Simon Fitzmaurice who passed away from Lou Gehrig's disease. I will search for more of his films, because he really created something special with "I am Emily". It seems like the story was written just for Evanna Lynch. She is quirky, but something about her hits you like electricity (as her boyfriend described in the film several times.). Some may say it moved slowly like the old car they drove on their road trip, but it was just right for me. It was filled with emotion and tremendous performances. I am only giving 9 stars, since I can understand that this film may not be for everyone. If I was recommending it just for my tastes, I would give it an 11.

Simon Fitzmaurice beyond his disability directed his last movie sadly sitting on a chair which is hard to go unnoticed and you can see little piece of heartfelt seen of pure emotion. This movie is definitely a 'Feel Good' movie. Story take turn and some seen are just not what you want or unnecessary but this story strictly tell us we wont find meaning in everything and sometime things happen randomly and you could either take little joy and little pain to make up memories to remember loved ones by. This movie is kind a like that, as if someone opened a bag of memories and it came bursting out everywhere and you trying to gather up all the pieces even the sad and painful bits. Direction and production work is amazing for an independent artist file which i think deserves a little more appreciation. At the end it was really a sense of calming to hear Evanna Lynch's voice portraying a disturbed teen. My take from it was don't find meaning in every film, sometime they're just stories of people living their life as best as they can. And that is commendable.

There's a poetry to My Name is Emily. Not just in the words - it permeates the imagery and music as well. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Simon Fitzmaurice's work - his short films won all around them, lauded as lyrical and beautiful. His stream-of-consciousness film-making evokes a response on myriad levels - visually, musically, emotionally - and My Name is Emily succeeds on all fronts.

Emily, played beautifully by Evanna Lynch, is a troubled soul - deep and considered and stubbornly beyond conformity. She is wounded, armored and iron-strong. Arden, played with great charm by newcomer George Webster, is similarly bruised, but meets his own challenges with an infectious wit and enthusiasm. He hides his own pain under bravado, to a degree, and his inherent optimism and seize-the-day attitude are a perfect counterpoint to Emily's initial introspection. Their growth as characters as they journey across Ireland builds in an organic and believable way, gradually revealing themselves to each other, and in turn, the audience.

To call this movie a road trip is a little reductive - it is, for all intents and purposes, but the journey Simon so wonderfully evokes is through an emotional landscape as well as a physical one.

Parents loom large for both these characters, in different ways. Emily's father Robert is written across every aspect of her life. Their history together has forged her, left her vulnerable, searching for answers. Michael Smiley delivers a nuanced and powerful performance as Robert - a broken man, gradually remade through love and forgiveness.

Simon finds humor and pathos throughout, delicately balanced against themes of loss and redemption. He adds richness and texture in deft strokes, letting peripheral characters shine in fleeting moments - Arden's Granny, full of wit and wisdom, Emily's foster parents, crippled by their earnest middle-class nicety.

Emily's pain and loss simmer, fathoms deep, etched across every subtle expression. Lynch plays it flat at first, closed and impenetrable, but gradually opens up as the movie progresses. It's wonderful to see Emily start to smile and laugh, to watch her being freed as Arden helps her come out of herself, out of her pain. My Name is Emily is a poem about love and loss, darkness and light and everything in between.