JOAN AND THE ROLLING STONE | Omeleto
A woman talks to a bowling ball.
JOAN AND THE ROLLING STONE is used with permission from Ethan Edwards. Learn more at / eme002 .
Joan is a woman seemingly stuck in life. She's just started dating again and is trying to make headway with her career as a singer-songwriter. She's trying to move forward, but she is also nursing a deeper pain: she lost her little daughter, but Joan can't talk about it.
After one desultory first date, she walks home alone, dejected. But at her lowest point, she meets a bright blue bowling ball that can talk. The ball's name is Brent, and after her initial surprise, she starts a conversation with the ball. The ball asks her for help finding its owner, Gary, but then discovers Gary has died. Joan helps Brent find Gary's grave, where Brent pays his final respects before moving on. Joan is surprised that Brent can move on so easily, but Brent's example gives Joan some food for thought on her own journey in life.
Directed and written by Ethan Edwards, this short drama combines the mundane and the surreal to explore one young mother's grief and healing. Stuck emotionally and psychologically, Joan finds an unexpected source of comfort and wisdom, showing how help and healing can come from the most unusual places and presences.
The film has a seemingly modest, simple approach to its visuals and storytelling, with a gentle but steady pace and a restrained simplicity in its camerawork and cinematography. Joan's life feels ordinary, and when she embarks on her date with a man named Nate, we can easily believe we're in for a naturalistic drama. But as her conversation on the date becomes increasingly stilted and defensive, as she does anything she can to avoid talking about her daughter's passing, some jarring flashes of color rupture the illusion of normalcy, telling us brusquely of Joan's past and setting up viewers that this normality is a front for something else lurking underneath.
But Joan's need for the illusion of normalcy makes the introduction of a talking bowling ball all the more jarring and impactful to both her and the audience. Though he's a ball, Brent enters the film with a fully developed backstory and character. He, too, is dealing with the loss of a loved one and needs Joan's help in taking the next steps.
Their dialogue is written as ordinary, normal and contemporary, with inanimate objects having the same feelings and thoughts that people do, and actor Tess Goldwyn has a warm, even affectionate bond with Brent. Voiced by actor Joe Boccia Jr. with a down-to-earth directness, Brent has surprising insight into the human condition, which he doesn't hesitate to relay to Joan when she objects to his plans to move on. As Brent rolls onto the next unknown stage of his journey, Joan realizes she might have to, as well.
Blending the ordinary and the strange, JOAN AND THE ROLLING STONE evokes filmmakers like Charlie Kaufman or Michel Gondry, who mix unusual, almost surreal elements with everyday life to explore deeper psychological and emotional issues. While the film is just a snapshot, it captures a short but sweet friendship that develops between Joan and Brent, paying tribute to how solace and wisdom can come from the most unexpected of places -- and how every encounter offers a piece of the puzzle we call life.
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