Mr. Roosevelt (Noël Wells, 2017): English

Reviewed by Hayden Schoenfelder. Viewed at AFI Fest in Hollywood.

Noël Wells is an upcoming director who also enjoys being the star of the show. In the Film, Mr. Roosevelt, she really creates an interesting dialogue leading into the introduction scene of Mr. Roosevelt himself. She’s a comedian and tries auditioning for a roll in a small movie, releasing her personality into the film. When she gets a call from her ex boyfriend, who was taking care of her cat, she gets very emotional. This causes her to quit her job and fly to Texas, from Los Angeles, California.

Once she arrives, the film really starts to unfold. Between jealousy and perfection standards she starts to crumble. Her old boyfriend now has a new girlfriend that is perfect in the eyes of Noel. She is acting like the cat is more important to her than it is to the real owner. Which ticks off Noel.

One important meaning I received from this film was that even when someone tries to help you as much as they can, even in a way that is annoying to you, make the best of it and try to cope. In the protagonists case, it didn’t work out like that. She needed time off with her newfound friends.

The production crew shot this movie as a point of view in a daily life realm, but with bits and pieces of thought provoking imagery to the viewer. I really enjoyed watching this film, with the comedy aspects of Noel’s personality, it generated heaps of excitement.

The purpose of the story, in my opinion was that if you mess around too much with the things you love, in the end you might lose their presence for good. Relating to the scene of the two girls chasing each other, while Noel is holding Mr. Roosevelt’s ashes, then the urn flies out of her hands onto the grass, dispersing of all the remains of her last loved one.