Just how are rules meant to be upheld in today’s day and age? Director LaLa Halsema tackles this topic in the context of education (or miseducation) in her short film entitled This I know.
During a parent meeting at her daughter’s conservative school, Julia (Virginia Newcomb) comes face to face with just how warped the values of the institution are and, perhaps most upsettingly, how her fellow parents seem eager to comply with them. The charismatic Ms. Baabs (Christine Fuchs) leads the assembly, calling Julia to the podium with a glass of orange juice. The first sip is unremarkable, but Ms. Baabs quickly turns the tables, bringing up an incident related to Julia’s daughter, Gabby (Kate Wilson). To the shock of everyone in attendance, Ms. Baabs places a cockroach in the pitcher to enforce her idea of impurity within Julia’s family, and orders the woman to take another sip.
So what’s all the fuss over? Among many things, Gabby’s skirt is alleged to have been too short, causing a disturbance with the boys in the classroom. It’s the kind of issue that’s always been a common topic within PTA discussions and school policies. Halsema and her co-writer, Carrie Schrader, don’t critique these rules, nor do they make a case for their abolishment. Rather, they focus on how enforcing them the wrong way can impact students. Not to mention how blame-shifting amongst adults can be equally responsible for the issue at hand. This is more than evident in a particularly nauseating sequence (which benefits from great editing by Joe Siebert) where Julia becomes completely overwhelmed.
Fuchs is excellent as Ms. Baabs. She’s a relentlessly nasty character, yet she commands a kind of stringent authority that seems nigh impossible to challenge. For brief moments, her actions are reminiscent of Joel Edgerton in Boy Erased, a film that deals with perceived delinquency in a much darker way.
Virginia Newcomb is just as terrific, but her best moments come in the short’s final moments when she finally meets her daughter for a heartfelt talk. The chemistry between her and Wilson is very authentic, with the two creating a scene that’s just as engaging as the intense gathering that preceded it.
All’s well that ends well, even if This I Know rushes its conclusion a little. Though heartfelt, it’s a little out of place given how quickly the story dashes towards a resolution. Thankfully, it doesn’t detract from what the filmmakers have to say. This I Know is a very well-made short, and its non-judgmental point of view is likely to strike a chord with both parents and children.
