Sometimes, we have to grow up so soon that our coming-of-age feels incomplete. So, when we do come around to our second reckoning, growing up feels like we are rebuilding ourselves from whatever is left of the personality that we had let go. In Vivian Kerr’s impressive feature debut, ‘Scrap,’ siblings Beth (Vivian herself) and Ben (Anthony Rapp) had to go through the tragic demise of their parents at an early age. When we meet them in their moment of crisis, they have already let go of a part of themselves.
Beth has been living in her car, having been fired from her job a few weeks ago. She has been aggressively looking for work, but it seems she is not eager to take her homelessness seriously. The entire opening sequence shows us her routine of living inside the car and going about her day. She has either not accepted that she is homeless or has an aversion to accepting that she can no longer afford to keep up with a life that depends on ordering absolutely anything from online shopping platforms or maxing her credit cards out.
If we consider a very particular set of limitations, this lifestyle could serve someone well. However, Beth has responsibilities that she is running away from. For one, she has a young daughter named Birdie, who has been living with her older brother, Ben. Consequently, Ben and his wife Stacy (Lana Parrilla) have been trying IVF to get pregnant. The frustration of not being able to conceive and having her sister’s daughter around for longer than they could have imagined has led Ben to lose sight of his career, which involves finishing a new book in his popular fantasy novel series. To top that off, Beth has been lying to both Ben and Stacy about being laid off from work and living in her car for weeks now. Basically, Beth has dug herself into a vicious cycle of lying and pretending, and those around her are also slowly being pulled into it.
Now, this is the basic premise that director Vivian has etched out for herself. She knows that if she makes this about a middle-aged woman’s midlife crisis, it will traverse into some of the most notable, albeit predictable, plot devices. This is why she carefully plants moments of drama that first take Beth to the brink of giving up and then allow her to gradually understand that she has been living in crisis mode for so long that she has forgotten that being a mother is one of the jobs she has to accept.
A large part of the film is about the relationships between children and their parents. Since Beth and Ben lost their parents at an early age, Ben had to be like a father figure to her. In a way, Ben has become someone who is so busy dealing with other people’s problems that he has very little time to acknowledge and take care of his own.
For instance, Ben doesn’t necessarily want to write the next part of his fantasy novel but instead wants to get his book about Billie Holiday published. However, he is not only unable to stand up for himself but also diverts that frustration towards his wife, who is struggling with the couple being unable to get pregnant. Through a very clear-eyed maneuver, Vivian helps Ben find his path out of it. Anthony Rapp does well as a gentle, loving husband and a father figure to Beth. His wish to get out of one of those roles feels rooted in realism and genuine humane frustration.
Similarly, Vivian is able to evoke empathy from the audience for Beth—a character who feels extremely problematic on the surface but is simply unable to see beyond herself. The character arc she provides for Beth is incredible and feels completely believable, thanks in large part to Vivian’s understated performance. Other than the part where she introduces Beth’s ex-husband Joshua (Brad Schmidt) and conveniently plots the character toward a realization, most of everything feels done without leaning heavily on the melodrama that could have easily taken over the narrative.
I was also mighty impressed by how well a somewhat minor character like Stacy has been dealt with here. In a film that mostly revolves around the siblings, it’s refreshing to see another well-rounded character who feels pertinent to the story and establishes how boundaries need to be drawn within a family unit, too.
Overall, Vivian Kerr’s approach to Beth’s self-realization feels authentic and personal, making “Scrap” an assured directorial debut that introduces the writer, director, and actor as a talent to look forward to.
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