Lydia (Phoebe Garcia Pearl) is close with her dad (Dan Berkey), who has cancer. When he eventually passes Lydia must find a way to cope with her grief. She decides to attend a bereavement group where she will have the opportunity to discuss her feelings and hear the testimonies of everyone else attending. Stage V is the story of Lydia attempting to reconcile with herself and her troublesome situation as she remembers instances of her fathers final days.
Lydia’s dad is a beautifully written character. I feel like viewers often get characters, who have received life-altering news–that struggle to come to terms with their reality and their psyche fractures, and their attitude changes forever. However, I had a family member receive a diagnosis, but his way of dealing with things was different from what the world typically sees or believes. He mellowed, he became optimistic, and he was willing to look at the silver lining in every instance of his remaining days–and that’s what Berkey’s dad is in Stage V. Not only is he a reminder of that family member, but he’s an accurate representation of many people who know they have limited time. He’s fun, energetic, caring, and he knows that he needs to make every second count–and if he happens to lose some weight along the way then he’s game. Berkey portrays him with excellence, but the creation of the character by writer-director Pearl is nothing short of perfect.
It’s interesting that a narrative meant to focus almost entirely on Lydia and her dad is full of testimonies from a number of other characters before viewers ever really hear what Lydia has to say. Stage V moves slowly, and it meticulously introduces viewers to the ideas of loss and grief. The slow-moving narrative gives viewers the opportunity to understand and appreciate Lydia and her father before we hear what she has to say at her meeting, and as viewers become engulfed in the dad-daughter relationship, they begin to understand, more effectively, how this loss has affected Lydia. Slowly pulling viewers into the story, rather than quickly pouring on the emotions, creates a connection between the characters and viewers, and the emotional relevance becomes even more powerful as Stage V begins to close.
Backtracking to that idea of there being a silver lining even in the harshest times, Stage V doesn’t look just to express the difficulties of losing someone you love, but the reality that a positive attitude can make even the harshest situations more bearable. Pearl certainly isn’t downplaying what hardships like this can do to someone, but she’s trying to remind viewers of the good times that exist, and of the fact that optimism (even blind optimism) can work wonders.
The cinematography, score, and everything in between adds to the emotional turmoil that transcends the entirety of Stage V, but it is the combination of writing and acting that allow the film to shine so brightly. Not a moment goes by that I didn’t feel connected to the characters or the story, and I became fully engulfed in Lydia’s narrative of death and despair incredibly quickly. While a great portion of Stage V focuses on loss and grief, the film is actually a testimony of life, and that makes its way to the forefront of the film.
Written & Directed by Phoebe Garcia Pearl.
Starring Phoebe Garcia Pearl, Dan Berkey, Mary Cavett, Sol Marina Crespo, Hannah Beck, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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