New York Movie Awards Reviews Socks
Thank you to New York Movie Awards for this review of Dr. Weems' film, "Socks."
A deep and touching film about the internal struggles of a woman who survived being trafficked.
Socks is a dramatic short film directed by Ashley Aquilla, structured as a 31-minute-long soliloquy. Nothing happens during the film. The soliloquy tells us a story that happened some twenty years prior, when Belinda, played by a fearless Laprise Johnson, was kidnapped to be later trafficked for minor prostitution.
Johnson carries the entire short film, from beginning to end, thanks to her deeply touching and truthful performance. Most of the shots are long monologues shot as sequences. The directorial choice is rewarded by allowing the audience to get into the story, empathize with Belinda, and follow her train of thought.
The writing is very poetic, yet completely heart-shattering. The little girl, now in the hands of her captors, tries to fixate on the socks — a detail that reminds her of her mother, back in Ohio, running a successful laundromat business.
Johnson also takes on the thankless task of acting without special lighting, specific set design, or interesting costumes, which would have helped the overall film be more captivating and dramatic. Everything is very realistic, and maybe that’s the real power of this film.
This film goes to show that great performance and good writing are enough to keep the audience glued to the screen for the entire 31 minutes. The script would also work very well on stage.
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