HONEYWELL | Omeleto

A woman competes.


Sophia Honeywell wakes up in a desert. But this is no ordinary desert -- this is the afterlife. Sophia has died choking on a muffin, and now she must move on.

But a brittle, sarcastic factotum called "the sheriff" informs Sophia that she has a second chance at life. But she must compete with Caleb, a selfish loner, for the spot -- and reckon with her own unfinished business.

Directed by Jill V. Dae and written by Will Graziano and Charlotte T. Martin, this clever and thoughtful existential dramedy takes an unusual premise and makes it odder, more whimsical and more resonant: Sophia has found herself in one of many stations of the afterlife, where she wakes up, disoriented and confused. She discovers 1. she is dead and 2. she can go back if she wins a competition against Caleb, a loner who himself wants to go back to Earth to become a lionfish. Watching it play out is fascinating, full of quirky humor, suspense and poignant emotion.

The storytelling drops us in quickly, establishing the strange rules of a strange place, as well as the competition Sophia must win to get back to her life; we also see flashes of Sophia's life in her home with someone she loves. What we don't see are the initial action-oriented fights of the competition, which involve fighting monsters and turning Texas "blue." While that's a pity, the heart of the film is more emotionally oriented, as Sophia and Caleb must face the trickiest challenge of all: they must share their deepest regret on Earth and share what they would do differently. And later, Sophia faces another choice: she can go back, but she must never see the woman she loves ever again. Meanwhile, Caleb faces his own baggage as he bears witness to Sophia's struggles to make choices that will help her move forward.

Actors Becca Q. Co and Will Graziano balance both the comedic and dramatic demands of the narrative -- they are confused or exasperated by the strange world they've stumbled into, but when they both drill down into their regrets about life with vulnerability and honesty, the film becomes truly resonant and relatable. Visually, HONEYWELL navigates a similar transition: it begins with a brightness that feels both comical and surreal but gains in softness, shadow and beauty as Sophia and Caleb reveal themselves emotionally. In their own ways, they help one another move forward and grow, learning from one another's perspectives and experience. That growth makes for a complex, compelling arc, starting with the off-kilter and then landing with a gentle wistfulness and acceptance that feels a little like genuine wisdom.


HONEYWELL. Courtesy of Jill V. Dae at https://linktr.ee/honeywellfilm.