Paul Cartwright’s ‘Carrie’s Conversation’ is an emotional short film – precise, patient, and devastatingly effective. Cartwright writes and directs a piece that unfolds like therapy itself: quietly confrontational, intimate, and at times haunting
Carrie (McKenna Denali), a mother gripped by the echoes of childhood trauma, finds herself unraveling in a subdued exchange with a man whose presence hovers between therapist and stranger. Played by Cartwright himself, his character serves as both mirror and mystery. He listens with professional calm, but his intentions flicker – never quite clear, never quite safe.
Denali’s performance is tightly wound, resisting sentimentality. There’s a weariness behind her eyes that refuses to settle into cliché. She wears her grief like a second skin – one that’s rubbed raw by the weight of unresolved tragedy. The loss of her parents in a childhood accident is the unseen character in the room, poisoning her present, straining her role as a mother and fracturing her connection with an estranged brother and husband.
Beautifully shot by Rachelle Price, the cinematography lifts the dialogue-heavy setup into something cinematic. Lighting choices elevate the mood – soft but shadowed, tender but heavy with implication. It’s visually polished without glossing over the grit of the subject matter.
Cartwright’s script is spare and thoughtful. The tension simmers and then pivots – an unexpected twist ending redefines the entire interaction. It’s the kind of ending that will strike a chord with many. This is a moving portrait of emotional erosion and buried truths. It’s a modest short that earns every second of its runtime. Highly recommended.
