THE DAUGHTER | Omeleto

A fantasy phoneline operator gets a call from a dying father.


THE DAUGHTER is used with permission from Summer Agnew. Learn more at https://summeragnew.com.


Elderly and alone, Aaron -- or so he calls himself -- telephones his regular fantasy phone line operator, a girl he knows as Ella. They've talked before and Ella has asked Aaron not to call anymore. But this is the last time he calls, he says, and at the end of their strange, sad call, he asks if she can come to see him. Ella refuses and hangs up.

But when Aaron calls again, he's ill and dying. Through Ella playing his daughter, he asks for forgiveness for his failings as a father. But Ella's issues with her real father have arisen during their conversations, and through their strange, tenuous connection, both Aaron and Ella find a way to a fragile reconciliation.

Directed and written by Summer Agnew, this poetic, compelling short drama is a profoundly quiet film at first, but it's eloquent about how pain and regret can remain in us, spanning vast amounts of time and space. The film is marked by a minimal approach to plot but a fullness of character, dancing the line between intimacy and emotional distance.

Rendered in slow deliberate camerawork and shadowy naturalism, it begins with a simple premise of a lonely old man calling a fantasy phone line. But the scenario that unfolds is anything but salacious. Ella plays the role of Aaron's daughter, and they talk over old childhood memories of domestic peace and happiness.

The dialogue deftly captures the truth and sometimes unnerving honesty found in fantasy and roleplaying, and the lines blur for Aaron, as he compels Ella to roleplay his daughter, talking about their "shared" memories of her childhood. But as they talk, we also see that their conversation has struck a nerve with Ella, who has a visceral response to having a "father." Actors Darneen Christian and Peter McCauley play the surrogate father and daughter pair, navigating the delicate dance between them. It's wary and uncomfortable, but as they begin to touch on old traumas and regrets, they also find a way to resolve them together.

In some ways, THE DAUGHTER initially seems odd and even ominous, with its shadows and an eerie sense of displacement that perhaps mirrors the shadowy nature of a transactional relationship. But as the film shifts into its final movement, a clear luminous light enters, mirroring the characters' shift into emotional truth. Ella breaks open, finally expressing the words she wishes she could say to her father. In doing so, she can extend empathy and help another damaged soul like herself move on. Ella can move forward in life, while her surrogate father can move towards death with the peace of forgiveness.