The Closet: Short Film Review.
Olivia Jean Hamilton’s The Closet offers a fresh and modern take on the coming out story, and it quickly becomes clear that the toughest audience is not always the one you expect. Olympia, played with a charming nervousness by Amy Ward, has a secret she is finally ready to share. She is bisexual, and she wants to come out to her friends. Her straight friend Becca, played by Marylynn Sienna, is not the source of her anxiety. Instead, it is her gay and lesbian friends she worries about disappointing. The pressure has her rehearsing the moment in the mirror of her walk in closet, trying to find the perfect words.
Olympia decides the safest approach is to host a small gathering, bake a cake and reveal the truth in a space that feels comfortable. The get together brings Becca, Sasha played by Jasmine Vaughan, and the outspoken Gray played by Moe Dagane. Gray proudly identifies as a gold star gay and is never shy about sharing his opinions on sexual identity. When the conversation shifts to a mutual friend named Ryan, who recently ended a relationship with a girlfriend and might be gay, Gray’s reaction makes it clear that the idea of someone being possibly bisexual is not something he takes seriously. With her friends gathered and the cake waiting, Olympia finally takes a breath and delivers her truth with a wonderfully silly gay dad joke.
Hamilton drew directly from her own life when creating The Closet. The film began as a memory from boarding school, where she came out to her friends. The idea resurfaced during a UCLA storytelling class, and within a week she had a storyboard, a script and a colour palette ready to go. The central theme is the anxiety she knows intimately. Over the years she found her straight friends more accepting than some within the LGBTQ community, and she wanted that experience reflected on screen. Her aim is to continue making films that explore identity with warmth, humour and relatability.
The Closet approaches coming out with a light touch, showing how the act of saying the words can take on a life of its own. Hamilton delivers a tight, confident production that captures the emotional truth of her experience. Even if the pastel aesthetic is not for everyone, the film remains a feel good five minutes that uses every moment wisely.
