Review: “Hekla”

Movie poster for the film "Hekla," written and directed by Michael Smith (Courtesy of Michael Smith).

“Hekla,” directed and produced by Michael Glover Smith, is a film about an aspiring young actress by the same name as she goes through one of her busiest and most chaotic days. The film will make its premier at this year's Full Bloom Film festival on September 12.

“Hekla” is heavily inspired and even dedicated to the late David Lynch through its non-linear storytelling and use of dreams. Filmed mostly in black and white, color plays a major role in the film as the audience only sees color through the lens of filmed auditions and dreamlike sequences. The choices in color, audio quality, and music all reflect an intentional confusion and distinction between dreamlike scenes and the real world.

The film starts with the audience's introduction to Hekla through an unnamed narrator as Hekla wakes up for the day and goes through her typical morning routine. First impressions of Hekla make her character immediately likeable and funny. As Hekla's story continues, viewers are introduced to the variety of challenges this day holds for the actress. The young actress has four separate auditions and a performance spread throughout her schedule along with some unscheduled problems. Hekla’s first unscheduled mishap is a run-in with one of her exes during her first audition followed by the unfortunate breakup with her girlfriend Tyler. After Hekla’s split with her girlfriend, the film is then introduced to a new form of story telling through flashbacks of the couple. Hekla’s journey continues as she hops from audition to audition and even runs into old friends and an old professor of hers. The film comes to a close after Hekla's performance at a bar where she gets to truly shine. 

Hekla laying in a patch of grass (Courtesy of Michael Smith).

Throughout the film, we are brought into a dreamlike world of Hekla’s creation. This dreamlike world is full of vibrant colors, unlike the real world, which is portrayed in black and white. The only other time we see color in the film is through the point of view of each camera filming her various auditions. However, the color is not as vibrant during those scenes. The common factor is that both the dreamlike sequences and the camera point of view happen during Hekla’s auditions. The color of these scenes makes it feel like we are seeing the real Helka. Hekla’s outfits and makeup are colorful and loud, like we are seeing her real personality shine through. As Hekla’s auditions continue the audience sees more and more of the dreamlike world during Hekla’s auditions to the point where her last audition takes place in both the real world and her dream world where we constantly transition between the two.

Another important recurring sequence of scenes are the flashbacks of Helka and Tyler. These flashbacks start happening immediately after the couples split as we see Helka cry as she remembers the first time she met Tyler. Through these flashbacks the audience sees key moments in the couples relationship from when they are at their happiest to when they are on the verge of a break up. A lot of these scenes also happen during an audition, much like the dreamlike sequences. However, it does not seem like Hekla is drawing on these memories for her performance, more like she is trying to forget or ignore the memories. During an unexpected run in with an old professor of hers the audience learns that Hekla is intentionally trying to avoid looking back on her past in order to move forward with her career. This conversation ties back to the break up with Tyler as Hekla admits to being a workaholic which was the driving point of their split. This decision to keep moving and not dwell on the past is physically shown in the very end of the film where Hekla literally avoids her past and goes home. There is no character development for her, she firmly stays in her ways in deciding to avoid her problems.

The overall production quality of the film is great. Each music and sound effect choice feels very intentional. Some of the sound effects are noticeably amplified however, the amplification of those sounds also makes the silence between characters loud. Each song fits the scene it is in perfectly without taking away from what we are seeing on the screen, they help amplify Hekla's chaotic day. What I love most about the film is the acting from our star Elizabeth Stam. Stam  portrays Hekla brilliantly. She makes the awkward scenes feel real and the character of Hekla feel relatable but also mysterious. She is supported by the incredible narration from Wendy Robie who is most known for her role in David Lynch's “Twin Peaks.” Robie’s narration really helps the film come together with her explanations of Hekla’s feelings. She especially shines during the performance of Macbeth at the end of the film. While Hekla's character does not develop, the final play of the film helps us understand her character while describing Lady Macbeth. Hekla's performance paired with Robie’s narration makes you truly appreciate the artistic vision of the film.

I’ve done my best to avoid giving too much of this film away because I believe it needs to be experienced by each person individually. Maybe you as the viewer will see things I don’t, and I think that is part of the beauty of this film, it can be perceived differently by different people. Overall, I think this film is amazing and deserves to be recognized and shared. I hope to see more from this creator in the future.

“Hekla,” has been selected for the Statesville Full Bloom Film Festival and is screening on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2:15 p.m. at Iredell Arts Council. Purchase tickets here.