The strain of becoming an unexpected caregiver on mental health and marriage is an important topic that’s hard to get just right, but I feel like the dramatic short film I Don’t Care has a delicate balance of sadness and humor that nails it. The performances are pitch-perfect, and the script also demonstrates a level of realism and vulnerability that seems very authentic. For instance, it is very, very hard to open up in a support group of strangers at first. The stories in the support group felt true to the ones I’ve heard, and they manage to convey a lot of nuanced conflicting feelings about caring for family, especially if they never really cared for you.
Like in many support groups, this one comes to life when it gets real. People bond over some of their most shameful thoughts. Strangers are able to open up about a particular type of stress that felt inappropriate to share with people in their life who wouldn’t understand. Getting real means real talk about not just caregiver burnout, but resentment at honeymoons being cut short. This short film, written by Mike Nielsen and directed by Jay Guffey, creates empathy through the ugly thoughts, and sometimes that’s a beautiful thing.
I Don’t Care plays Friday evening, 10/9, at Mental Filmness.
Get your free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/mental-filmness-54312030423
