THOSE WE CARRY | Omeleto Drama

A woman goes to a cabin to die.


THOSE WE CARRY is used with permission from Rachel Borders. Learn more at https://rachelborders.com.


A mother and her adult daughter are spending the weekend at a cabin in the woods in California. But the pair are close, but this is no ordinary trip for them. The mother is terminally-ill, and she has decided to end her life on her terms. They're spending one last weekend together before she goes.

In many ways, it's a peaceful, pleasant weekend, though marred by the mother's physical suffering. They enjoy the quiet of the remote setting. But even as mother and daughter spend time together, they're aware that their final goodbyes are on the horizon.

Directed and written by Rachel Borders, this affecting, resonant short drama is a warm and tender portrait of a mother and daughter saying goodbye to one another before the mother makes an irreversible decision after a long period of suffering and pain. Not only is the film a testament to the profound love between a mother and her now-grown child, but it also captures the emotional complexity of its subject matter with great empathy and respect.

Like the secluded backwoods setting of the story, the film has the look and feel of an idyllic, hushed space carved out away from the hustle and bustle of life. The cinematography is weighed by grain and shadows, but it's also dappled with sunlight during the day, bestowing an atmosphere of peace over the film's two characters. Similarly, the action and plot of the narrative are both quiet yet weighty, as we see the mom struggle physically with her debilitating condition and her daughter attempts to help. Yet the mother insists on doing things herself, demonstrating an innate toughness and dignity.

The steady, almost serene storytelling doesn't manufacture a complicated plotline, instead focusing on character and relationships as the drivers of the emotional arc and leaning heavily on the excellent performances by both actors of the film to create momentum. Actor Nancy Travis offers an unaffected, unsentimental yet tender performance as the mother, one lacking in self-pity but still painfully aware of the import of her decision. She portrays the balancing act of a woman who is ready to go, but for the deep and abiding love for her daughter, played by actor Adrienne Visnic with both vulnerability and empathy.

In many ways, Visnic's character has the largest emotional journey to travel in THOSE WE CARRY, for while she attempts to stay positive and loving, she can't help but want to hold onto her mother for just a while longer. Her mother's last living act is to help her daughter learn to let go, to accept her decision and find solace in her relief from suffering. She must learn to find the same kind of peace that her mother did in her acceptance of mortality -- and trust that her mother's love endures within her, even if parted by death.