Endometriosis is no laughing matter, but the short film End-O treats it with an endearingly effective blend of wry humor and compassion. Much like its determined-to-have-sex protagonist, it’s admirable for diving into what might be an uncomfortable subject with down-to-earth honesty.
For the unfamiliar, endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing chronic pain and unpredictable, sometimes excessive bleeding. Pain during sex is common, but Jaq (Sophia Di Martino, Loki) isn’t ready to forgo intimacy. As she tells her sister, Claire (Lisa Jackson, Dirk Gently), who sadly also suffers from this, she’s figured out she has a seven-day window to seduce the handsome guy (Bart Edwards, The Witcher) that she’s currently dating.
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Timing their latest date “to perfection,” Jaq thinks that she shouldn’t have much trouble, but her body has other ideas. She brings Claire up to speed in the hospital, where Claire is prepping for surgery to remove her uterus, hoping for relief.
Director Alice Seabright (the TV series Sex Education) and writer Elaine Gracie pepper the sisters’ conversation with rapid-fire dialogue and quirky visual metaphors. Your mileage may vary on their use of food to illustrate what happens during Jaq’s night of passion, but more of the jokes are a hit than a miss.
One reason for that is Di Martino, who recently kept Tom Hiddleston on his toes in the Marvel TV series Loki. She’s delightful, veering from brash chatter to tenuous confidence, embarrassment, and weariness. She storms around the hospital with a plush hot water bottle strapped to her abdomen like a shield.
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At one point, she confides in Dr. Maan (Amit Shah) about what’s happened, but she’s lived with this condition for so long, she’s two steps ahead of his every remedy. She imagines a male patient with pain in his sensitive bits and a cheerful Dr. Womaan (Rakhee Thakrar) whose advice leaves him incredulous. Is there really nothing more that modern medicine can do?
Perhaps, as Claire suggests, the best thing for Jaq to do is confront the situation and confide in the guy that she likes. While End-O leaves the viewer hanging, Di Martino and the breezy score from composer Roly Witherow (On The Edge and Gregor) convey the sense that whatever comes next, Jaq will be all right.
