Polaris: Young Love and Its Happy, Messy, Fleeting Glories

Eleni Doucas’ 17-minute young-adult romance, Polaris follows Lucy and Aidan, young residents at a mental health facility, who develop a friendship that flows into a fraught romance. The leading cast, emerald green in their inexperience, convincingly pull off their characters’ by turns awkward, dramatic, and just plain sweet relationship—quintessential young romance. 

The pairing is classic: good girl who had to grow up too quickly (Irene Benitez) and rebellious boy who does not care which feathers he ruffles (Omar Pederzoli). In their way, the authoritarian gaze of the on-campus doctor, Dr Mallory Campbell (Ashton Clay), who, amusingly is not all-seeing, but sees enough to pose a problem. Behind her back and equally otherwise, the two carry on their gleeful, boisterous friendship in a montage sequence set to an airy, lighthearted score, their glum surroundings easily replaceable with that of high school and sunnier days. The cinematography shows signs of blooming skill in its thoughtful compositions and lighting, especially in the very first shot of a pacing Campbell. 

The hell-raising euphoria is balanced with quiet, intimate conversations, some of which the audience is privy to, and some that we watch from afar with Campbell, who looks like separating them for villainous reasons is at the top of her daily to-do list. The refreshing thing about the film is that the actors do look their part: fledgeling adults who are still learning how to be. It tones down the stakes of star-crossed lovers separated by mighty forces, replacing tortured soliloquies with just mental torment. They are, after all, on a treatment plan—an underexplored aspect that only hints at Lucy’s overmedication as part of the general aura of a disciplinarian regime. 

Taking the weight of a world bigger than them off their shoulders gives the still-teenagers room to go through inevitable heartbreak with only slightly messy angst. And when all turns out easily well in the end, the film can let it just be. 

Watch Polaris Short Film Trailer