Twin’s Paradise a 2020 short film, about twin tennis stars Darcy and Marcy struggle with their inner demons on the eve of a big championship. Victoria Vincent, the director has such a unique animation style that this film always sticks out in my mind. It’s a trip into the mind of these two very different and very troubled characters. The film covers a variety of taboo topics and heavy themes.
The visuals
For a film about such heavy topics, the visuals are a complete 180 of what you expect. I think by having such bright, colourful and eye catching colours and animation alongside these heartbreaking story lines you feel even more unsettled about what you are watching. The character and set designs are excellent. They tell a story about the characters before you even get to know them through the films.
The characters
Darcy and Marcy are the main characters and we follow them in the different ways they handle grief after the passing of their mother. The sisters have contrasting personalities which we see at the beginning of the film but the main thing that sets them apart is how they deal with their mother death. Marcy channels her feelings into practicing almost excessively, we see her inner monologue through the angel and devil on her shoulder. She usually leans into the devils advice, leading to violent outbursts. Darcy however is on some kind of medication for her disturbing thoughts, this medication sends her into a bright world which she sees as a paradise, where she can see her mother again. She grows very dependent on this medication eventually leading to her overdosing. It is only when both the girls are in the hospital, missing the tennis championships that Darcy realises that they have been so caught up with their own inner problems they didn’t realise the world was actually ending. Marcy must fight her own inner demons to learn to let go of her failures. The two sisters are very different in their personalities but their grief is two sides of the same coin.
This film is about grief and trauma, it’s about loneliness and depression and about the harmful coping mechanisms people take on to cope. But mostly it’s about craving this idealistic escape where you can just forget. In this case escapism is achieved through destructive tendencies. In the end, we the audience realise that they both used different methods of escapism to isolate themselves, until the end of the world where everything stopped, along with the music and he bright visuals where the girls and the audience were finally forced to face the reality of their situation. That they weren’t truly alone as they still had each other, someone who knew exactly what they were going through.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film, the animation is simple in its style but really helped to tell this dark story.