TAKE GOOD CARE

A short film

About aging, ambition, family, and love

starring Molly Hagan as Sophie

Logline

In a world where older people are expected to quietly die at age 65, a single-minded scientist, desperate for more time, needs her long-neglected artist daughter to take good care, of her.

Synopsis

It’s 2035 and in order to conserve resources and shrink costs, elders, or those who reach 65 years old, are promptly sent off to “Depart” (i.e. die.)

SOPHIE isn’t giving up so easily. A stubborn biogerontologist, Sophie’s spent her life in singleminded pursuit of what she calls a “healthier-aging” therapy.

Others might call it the key to immortality.

But the clock is ticking. And to secure permission from the Threshold Council to continue past her “expiration date,” Sophie needs a caretaker.

The prime candidate is her frustrated-artist daughter, WREN, who blames her work-obsessed mother for her own failures in life.

Will Sophie’s obsessive work cost her her main reason for being, her daughter?

VOTED BEST SCIENCE-FICTION FILM, GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVAL

Director Statement

We’re living longer than ever. Centenarians (100+) are already common. Some scientists say 150-years-old will soon be the norm! Yet what will our lives look like as our lifespan dramatically increases? Will we require rejuvenation therapies? And who will caretake all these aged people? These are the questions that inspired TAKE GOOD CARE.

The heart of the film lies in Sophie and Wren’s give and take. As every parent or child knows, the caregiver/caretaker relationship is enormously complicated. Until the end, a parent will often try to take care of their child. Meanwhile, children, who have little say in the matter, often feel inadequate to the task of caretaking an aging loved one.

The choice to literally tie Sophie and Wren together to represent their voluntary–and involuntary–interdependence, presented many challenges. Push-ins, pull-outs, the use of mirrors, and a lazy 270 degree circling camera movement reflect the ongoing tension and push-me-pull-you relationship of mother and daughter, who will always be bonded.

I hope the personal experience I had taking care of my mother that’s embedded in Sophie and Wren’s story, as they both struggle with their roles, makes it relatable for others. That others too will forgive themselves for not always having their priorities straight—and for their imperfect relationships. And know that it’s never too late to communicate the true care we feel for one another.