Shari Sharpe’s quirky short Mole points at a universal phenomenon: the quarter-life crisis. Around the age of 25, like clockwork, many young people spiral into existential questions about identity. The titular character Mole is no exception. Her sudden chase for imposed milestones is nothing short of anxiety-inducing.
Mole (played by Molly Keogh) is the kind of young woman who loves a good party, only to find herself stumbling home drunk, night after night. One day she’s had enough. Tearing up her entire closet in a frenzy, ripping apart anything that comes in her way, she wants to change. Immediately. Goodbye shiny clothes, hello big beige sweater.
Sharpe frames Mole’s antics with whimsy, turning breakdowns into comedy while keeping the pace light on its feet. Cara Mahoney’s writing captures the painfully relatable micro-tantrums with light-hearted humor and a sprinkle of topsy-turvy chase for some stable ground.
Molly Keogh succeeds to embody Mole’s impulsiveness with sharp comedic timing. She sulks, she pouts, she storms. The joke, of course, is that trying to be someone else is itchy and uncomfortable, like her mother’s sweaters, which she ends up borrowing after giving her entire wardrobe away.
Premiering at the London Independent Film Festival 2025, Mole shines a light on the pressures that weigh especially heavily on women: to settle, to grow up, to follow a life plan. Stable job. Serious partner. Healthy routines. The impossible equilibrium. The social commentary is hard to miss: with there being so many different life plans, society expects you to fit in that one mould.
Mole is a very fun and relatable watch, especially for people who “haven’t figured it out yet” and hopefully never will fall into the boring patterns of imposed adulthood. Be bold, wear that leopard coat.
