FemmeFilmFest20 Review: 'Faulty Roots' from Ella Greenwood

Young people with serious illnesses have an especially hard cross to bear. Fear of being stigmatized socially, frustration with potentially limited options for their futures and a possible lack of strong communication skills all create an agonized existence.

“Faulty Roots” touches on these issues in a limited runtime but encourages a dialog regarding how health, especially mental health, is addressed in society. It is a sensitive and compassionate look at how mental illness can be just as debilitating as a physical illness, but is often not taken as seriously. Even by those closest to the person who is experiencing it.

Lola (Ella Greenwood) is struggling with depression. With the help of therapy, she is slowly emerging from a period of complete emotional shut down. She reluctantly agrees to her mother’s urging to visit an old friend, Zack (Sani Thabo).

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Thabo is particularly good playing a young man who maybe has not completely accepted the implications of having an incurable disease. He is charming and warm, which helps break down Lola’s reserved awkwardness. They continue to get together and open up to one another and we start to learn more about their hopes and dreams.

Zack finds out that Lola had applied to a school in New York but has changed her mind about going through with her plans. She explains that she still struggles to get out of bed some mornings and the idea of taking such a big step seems more than she can deal with. He confides in her his dream of being an astronaut and then admits that he has almost certainly no chance of ever achieving this due to his illness.

The scene is in no way maudlin despite the heaviness of the dialog, chiefly because of the chemistry between the two actors. They have a convincing rapport with one another.

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The title of the film comes from Zack saying he feels like a tree that has the potential to grow to greater heights than any other, but is hindered by “broken roots.” Lola responds that he is not broken, his roots are just “faulty.”

It is an important clarification. In Lola’s view “broken” means something that a person could fix on their own, while “faulty” implies an issue that was “predetermined” and therefore out of their hands. Mental illness, like a genetic defect that can cause an incurable disease, is not due to someone being “broken.”

‘Faulty Roots” has a strong script and some nice details that might be missed if the viewer is not alert to them. There is a sign in Lola’s kitchen that says “Ain’t that just the way” which could be construed to be a statement of frustration or humor – but in her case, might signify despair.

During one of their get-togethers, Lola is seen reading a book titled Dear Evan Hansen, which became a Broadway musical about a teenager with a mental illness. The only flaw in “Faulty Roots” is a rushed and unsatisfying ending. Lola deserves a richer and more developed story, but the film serves as an intriguing first chapter.

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