The Crush
By Michael Creagh
I have had my fare share of teacher crushes. There was Mr. Palmour: the dreamy nerd who listened to great music and wore the cutest clothes. Then there was Mr. Rosch: the cynical history connoisseur who muttered under-the-breath perverted jokes and could babble about my cultural interests for hours. Indeed, I was older when these crushes bloomed so I was aware of the impossible and ridiculous nature of them, but a crush is a crush. Whether from small infatuations to an unadulterated passion, your feelings towards your crush are intimate and personal. It hurts when you are denied. It rocks your world when you are accepted.
One of the first things I noticed in this short were the three words that Miss Purdy asked her students to recognize in their reading: love, pretend and reveal. If they saw those words, she would reward them for doing so well. On the board behind her, the three words are written into a cohesive statement saying “Reveal Pretend Love.” As I watched the rest of the short film, it became clear to me that it was Ardle’s purpose to reveal the make believe love in Miss Purdy’s life. By stating the purpose of this little hero’s journey at the beginning of the film and watching the truth unfold before our eyes, this film takes a different turn than most.
The emotions of the characters also take the viewer on his or her whirlwind journey of terror, love, happiness, sadness, fret, etc. I spent most of my time attempting to read Ardle’s face—he was glowing when his dad recounted his violent tale; he was stunned at Miss Purdy’s real ring; he was stone cold and sad when he spoke to Pierce, the greasy boyfriend. All of his physical reactions and dispositions led the viewer to peer deep into his loving internal emotions. He completely adored Miss Purdy. He completely hated Pierce. He would do anything to have a hold of the thing he loved the most, including “killing” someone in a duel. While I watched the duel and truly believed that Ardle was to kill Pierce, I could not stop thinking “what is going to happen to this sweet boy’s future?” You know you have created an incredible bond between your characters and viewers when you have them worrying about the character’s future.
Here is to Ardle, the boy who saved Miss Purdy from a terrible mistake and proved that true love is worth anything. Whenever I know that I have found true love, I will now think of Ardle and hope that the man I love will take me to lunch instead of watching football.
I loved, loved, loved this short.
