After watching the film, “The Wasp,” and especially being told that it won an Oscar for best Live Action film in years past, I truthfully feel like it didn’t take off. Though my perspective is limited and I have an inexperienced view on short films, I personally feel there was much missing. For such a lengthy short, it lacked the strong background story as to why Zoe was without the father of her kids or why they lived they so harshly.
I’ve learned not to expect too much detail from a short film seeing the average can run around 15 minutes, but come on, there was no clinging of emotion. Where were the comical side remarks here or there, the feeling of anger from abuse or neglect, the sigh of relief for a successful turnout at the end.
It was almost as if her actions were okay, as a bad mother, by the way the film end. Yes, there was the woman that could be imagined by the viewer, standing out to alert and challenge the mother for not properly taking care of her kids, but what lesson was learned.
In the 2011 Oscars section for live action short films, each nomination in some way could’ve debated to have some lesson or at least understanding of the human condition. However, where is that in “The Wasp.” The mother barely has money to feed her kids only providing them with chips and a single glass of coke. She leaves her kids recklessly in the parking lot for hours on end while she relives fast moments of freedom before having kids I suppose.
I personally feel this film was an upset in its seeming lack of direction or imagination. Though the filmmaker did manage to capture some heartfelt emotion in the mother’s eyes and actions, I couldn’t help but feel my skin slightly crawl as the uplifting music at the end presents the thought that it’s okay to be a bad parent.
