Topside: Review

2nd April 2022

Little (Zhaila Farmer) and her mother, Nikki (Celine Held) live in the underground tunnels of New York City. They get on the best they can and they have a close bond besides their unusual circumstances.

Little is only five years old, so she stays close to her mother and obeys her when she’s told never to go ‘topside’. However, one day when Little overhears something she shouldn’t, her mum takes her topside while she tries to get away from real danger.

Topside is a realistic drama written and directed by Logan George and Celine Held. Showing a side of New York which is rarely seen, Topside attempts to show how a homeless mother deals with raising her daughter in extraordinary situation.

A mixture of Good Time and Room, there’s a strong onscreen bond between mother and daughter which drives the emotions of the film. However, where Topside tries to show the gritty underbelly of The Big Apple, it seems more interested in showing how dark it can go.

As mother and daughter go on the run, they go to a man called Les (Jared Abrahamson), an old acquaintance of Nikki’s but it soon shows what kind of relationship they have and Nikki feels that her daughter should be somewhere better. Whilst attempting to show something real and authentic, it also seems that this is where perhaps the story stops and the egos of the directors take over.

For a relatively short film that barely reaches ninety minutes, it seems that an hour into the film, the writer/directors have said all they want to say and it leaves Held being the focus of the rest of the film. Giving her a chance to show her anguish and despair as her life crumbles around her.

Also, despite daring to show what it’s like to be homeless in New York, there never seems to be a deep enough insight which makes their experiences feel authentic. Farmer is very young, but gives a good performance and is shown to follow direction well and Held is also particularly good, showing the warmth that only a mother could. However, perhaps the message shouldn’t be ‘aren’t you glad this isn’t you?’

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