The internet is full of wonders — and as society has grown alongside it, we are now more aware of its pitfalls and dangers, as much as we are aware of the endless cat pictures and nostalgic video compilations. In Blair Waters‘ award-winning short film Princess Rita, the desire for human connection overrides the cynicism that bleeds into every other aspect of our interactions with those we do not know.
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Insurance Adjustor
In southern Florida, an insurance adjuster with no name (Fedor Steer) emails a woman named Rita, a princess in a faraway land for whom he carefully adjusts his life and finances in order to get her over to America. Through a series of emails that comprise the voiceover that narrates against the images of a solitary life on the road, the desperation for a human connection gently unfolds.
He describes the reality of his life and the future that awaits her, preparing her for the unpleasantness of examining the damaged property and flooded homes and old ladies who have fallen over, while also promising to crown her “queen of everything in [his] life.” Mallory Rice‘s script leaves much unsaid, but a wider narrative is allowed to seep through cracks: a daughter who is sceptical of this internet romance, co-workers who don’t take his feelings for Rita seriously, and an increasing sense of detachment and isolation that is quickly invading every aspect of his life.
An Idyllic World Dressed In Pastel
Princess Rita is a film of subtle contrasts that distracts from a storyline that could easily be told as a cautionary tale of internet naivety. Director Blair Waters delves into a sunshine-bleached Florida that is frayed at the edges, not quite the holiday destination that is seen in travel agent brochures or filtered Instagram posts.
The insurance adjuster moves from one roadside motel to another. The unflattering uniform of a beige shirt and brown trousers that finish too high above his ankles reflects the monotonous and repetitive nature of his job. He never takes them off, except for a brief float in a motel pool: the turquoise water clashes with a bright pink pool float in a rare moment of levity for the protagonist.
Waters contrasts this existence with a world almost drenched in pastels, similar to Sean Baker‘s depiction of the purple motel in The Florida Project. Waters‘ buildings are mint green and white, filling the whole screen for a brief moment. There are murals of flamingos on walls and tranquil water scenes, and yet cinematographer Logan Floyd ensures that the audience is constantly distanced from the action. He favours bird’s-eye view shots and long shots, simply observing the adjustor slowly becoming more desperate as he waits for Rita to reply.
Blending Storytelling and Tactility
There is something wonderfully tactile about Princess Rita. From the description of her smelling — in the adjustor’s dreams — like a “warm tangerine,” to the moments of reflection as he wanders out into the quiet oceans to take a very specific picture, the sense of place and feeling is introduced in every scene.
While the film’s runtime is short, coming in at just under ten minutes, Waters and the rest of the cast and crew have managed to construct a self-contained environment that needs little explanation or exposition. Everything in this small world is perfectly depicted, and so vibrant that the contrasting nature of the adjustor’s loneliness and his increasing dependence on his relationship with a woman he’s never met becomes ever more heightened — more so than it would have been if shot with a more ‘realism’-focused lens. With a subtle performance from Steer, and a perfectly pitched tone, Waters proves that is its quality, not quantity, that makes a film worthwhile.
What’s your favourite short film? Leave a comment below!
Princess Rita is now available to watch on Vimeo and YouTube.
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