"The Mortician's Hobby," written and directed by Colleen Reilly takes a novel approach to an extremely sensitive subject: Death in the family, and the public perception of mortuaries and morticians.
The mortician (micki SCHLOSS) agrees to accept a temporary intern as part of an educational program. When he meets the young lady (Felicia Day) he learns that she garnered his establishment for the assignment by virtue of her absence from class on the day the assignments were chosen. The mortuary, a sort of booby-prize, was the only internship left. She confesses that she'd rather be a hair dresser.
She is present when the mortician makes funeral arrangements with several clients and shows a sensitive comprehension of the clients' emotions and needs through a quiet but powerful sense of observation, noticing, too, that the mortician sketches the clients who display interesting features.
The mortician introduces her to applying make-up to the faces of the diseased, a task that disgusts her, at first, and demonstrates the novel use of his sketches which intrigues the young intern and changes many of her perceptions and goals.
Excellent casting for difficult roles which are played extremely well under talented direction.
Short but packing a powerful message.
