by Eurocheese
One of the top reasons to attend festivals is to find surprises, films that far exceed expectations and become unforeseen favorites. I had no plans to write up Leah Nelson's Tangles, though I knew it was getting good reviews. When I stumbled out of the theater, unable to keep tears from streaming down my face, I knew it deserved a reaction here at The Film Experience. This animated gem is not only for those who have been impacted by Alzheimer's directly, but for anyone who has loved ones aging into their final years, when we begin the difficult process of learning how to say goodbye...
Sarah, a young woman starting her professional life in San Francisco, is floundering through her work duties, trying to scrounge up the courage to ask out the local hot girl she meets through mutual friends, dancing till early hours – basically, enjoying the life of a 20-something in the process of finding her wings. The swirling black-and-white animation, based on Sarah Leavitt's work, recalls Persepolis, another adaptation that brought a graphic novel to the screen. Every scene has a slight dreamlike quality.
When she flies back to her hometown to see her family, the slightly out-of-her-depth nerdy artist becomes the confident eldest sibling, and we can tell from her reactions on arrival that something feels off. Her father and aunts are giving her vague versions of what is happening, and her mother seems perturbed. After drawing out the details, Sarah realizes her family's assertions that "everything is fine" add up to causes for alarm, so she insists that her mother get checked out medically. She was right to do so, but doesn't receive the reassurance she was hoping for when the older woman is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
The animation style lets the story dip into nostalgic memories, nightmarish fears, and even tie-ins to the designs Sarah is submitting for her job as this news begins to creep into every aspect of her life, even at work. Her drawings for the publication, meant to celebrate queer life, are now tinged with dark overtones. The new budding relationship with a promising partner is on hold as she determines how often she needs to fly back to help with her ailing mother. Other family members are beginning to feel overwhelmed and frustrated when she tries to step in with her own ideas, since they have spent more time dealing with the situation. These are the everyday situations faced by anyone feeling the strain of caretaking within a family, and it's refreshing to see it happen to a queer protagonist without family acceptance being a factor. If anything, Sarah's strength and independence seem to come from her mother, Midge, making it even more heartbreaking to watch one of her early heroes deteriorate before her eyes.
One necessary contrast in the story is Sarah's sometimes prickly relationship with her sister, Hannah, who frequently argues with her about the best way to handle care. Both are strongheaded and Sarah is often harsh when judging her sister's choices. How long can the family help Midge before it makes sense to ask for outside aid? Where do we draw the line between personal sacrifice and being there for our family? The sisters have different takes on these questions, and everything about their dynamic feels realistic. Tangles ultimately points out that neither of them is in a position to judge the other's grief.
Even as Sarah makes important life decisions, it becomes clear that she isn't sure if she's making the right choices – and is there such a thing as a right way forward in situations like this? Anyone who has been through a similar scenario with their family or loved ones will recognize themselves in the internal struggles that come with these stories. Ultimately, if we know we are losing someone close to us, there are no easy answers. Sarah is doing everything in her power to make lasting memories with her mom while she still can, help ease her dad's burden, and share her love for her family in their time of need. Screenwriter Trev Renney joined writer/director Leah Nelson for the Q&A after the film and stressed that they could have included many more vignettes from the graphic novel, but chose the themes they wanted to highlight.
This is not easy subject matter, and one word repeated frequently in audience questions was "devastating," but that's to be expected from a film that taps into our deepest bonds. Walking out of the theater, I immediately reached out to my mom and I'm sure many other audience members did too. Tangles is an emotional rollercoaster that feels true to real-life experience, and I highly recommend tracking it down, as it was one of the most impactful titles at the festival this year. For me, at least. Given that this was Leah Nelson's debut (which took well over a decade to develop and complete), I'm excited to see what she does next. Hopefully, her efforts will factor into this year's Animated Film race – I have a feeling that, if voters take the time to see it, Tangles will start winning top prizes and hopefully become widely accessible.
In the meantime: Reach out to your loved ones and tell them you love them!