In Scrap, we follow adult siblings Ben, Anthony Rapp, who is an accomplished fantasy writer, and Beth, writer and director Vivian Kerr, who is a single mother of a five-year-old daughter named Birdy who struggles to make ends meet. After Bens parents passed away in a plane crash, he took in his sister, Beth. Now he harbors the survivor’s guilt and is overly concerned about not only Beth but also Birdy, and even his law wife Stacy who’s suffering from anxiety and mood swings due to fertility pills. To take care of the hormonal injections, injections, dietary requirements and fragrant baths, Ben gets down to business by collecting scap papers filled with information on the primary resources he needs.
The film starts with Beth emerging from her sleep which she spent in the car, this is a red flag as it signals either she is comfortable or rich or she is unemployed trying to get a job in the market. She had everything, pink silk pajamas, expensive luggage and an enticing eye mask but her voicemail was an overdue bill, also according to her contract. The mounting bills however failed to shatter Beth’s dreams as her phone rang from a place where she had applied for a job, and she was happy to answer it.
So far, Birdy has been residing with Ben and Stacy who, at this point, are increasingly annoyed because Beth hasn’t been in touch. But the reason why I don’t want them to know is because Beth was off work. For their own part, however, both Beth and Ben spent quite some efforts trying to manage the chaos.
In her first long feature as a director, Kerr demonstrates an extraordinary aptitude for cinematic storytelling. Their relationships are central, but in the frame there are many visual indicators which explain what is going on in the characters’ minds. A woman of child bearing age in their doctor’s waiting room makes them feel the stress of having to succeed. To Beth, working at a homeless shelter starkly contrasts with her father’s aide work. For many students, Ben’s signing of his first book is a momentous occasion in their lives. As for Beth, her ex calling her is shades of her past reminding her of hurtful experiences, hence she muted her phone when he called.
As for Kerr, through her characters as a screenplay writer, it is easy for her to fathom the intricacies of Ben and Beth’s relationship.
The more she tries to push him away, the more he wants to take care of her. Because they both experienced the same sense of loss, she wanted to limit the relationship to brother and sister and nothing more. She claims to take care of herself and Birdy, and that she is capable of standing on her own without any external support, which is not entirely true. She lies to him, about how she has important meetings that could change her life and her ex wanting to get back together with her. Like Ben, Beth is a creator of fantasies, but in her case, only one person gets them.
Ben’s publisher remains on his neck for him to publish more volumes in the series but all Ben is interested in is publishing a biography of the singer Billie Holiday. “In my life there is an issue that I cannot seem to work through,” is one of the titles of the Holliday’s most popular songs and it mirrors the issues the siblings are facing. Both feel stuck. With a handful of other characters an Uber driver, an ice rink employee, and that “Do Not Answer” ex Kerr creates pictures that are all too real and very believable.
In our perception, after listening closely, we understand that Birdy is about to have both a birthday and a dance recital, and these will be the key moments that do not turn out well or as expected. In terms of how the story structure flows, this kind of objective may be appealing, however, Birdy’s portrayal is undeniably the opposite she is optimistic despite the fact that most of the time she is faced almost all over the place with her expectations and false hopes. A handful of the other problems are also resolved a tad too conveniently, considering the sheer disruption of the rest of the narrative. But by that time, we have been somewhat brainwashed into siding with the characters, and a fantasy finish is rather warranted at that end of the story.
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