Matt Creed's first film "Lily" is a character study of a woman trying to refocus her life after cancer treatment. The film, starring Amy Grantham, is based on the real life events of the actress and attempts to show the hardships of a cancer patient after having gone through the effects of the deadly disease. Unfortunately, the resulting film is a directionless study of a boring character that never engages.
The film starts off as Lily is getting radiation. She is quiet but very observant. On her way to pick up her boyfriend's kids, she observes a performing artist on the street and records him. Once Lily picks up the kids she is no longer the same quiet introvert. She tries to connect with them but it is obvious they do not like her. From that moment on Lily interacts with Aaron (Boyfriend), her mother, her doctors, her friends and many other countless individuals. However. like the kids she is unable to connect with them except for her friends. Lily can't get along with her boyfriend's guests and has no connection with her mother (Rebecca Street) or father. When she tries to rekindle the relationship with her parents she has nothing to say to them. While director Creed tries to demonstrate that it is mainly her parent's disinterest, Lily seems like she does not want to talk to them and mainly sits or stands awkwardly.
Nothing else happens besides a couple of parties and conversation scenes with doctors who lecture the audience on what type of cancer Lily has and what the consequences are. Then Lily reiterates the doctor's news in subsequent conversations as if the audience did not hear it before.
Creed tries to show her confusion as she tries to readapt to society. One day she wants to learn to tap dance, while another day she wants to get a job. Then she wants to hook up with her ex-boyfriend but the next moment she is upset with him for no apparent reason Her character changes are erratic and one never understands what she wants.Creed also tries to show her new found appreciation for life. She tapes cassettes and looks at random strangers on the streets. But none of this ever connects with the plot or with Lily. It is not driving anywhere or pertaining to who this character is and what she wants.
It does not help that Grantham possesses no real emotions. At the beginning when she has to cry because her boyfriend's kids don't appreciate her, she forces crying sounds. When she is supposed to be drunk during a party with her boyfriend, she overacts and accentuates every word. To make matter worse, Grantham's face always hints that the actress might laugh at any moment. When she has conversation with her mother about her cancer, Grantham can't look at actress Street because of the amateur delivery of lines. The other problem is every time Creed shoots a close up Grantham gives an awkward stare or twitches her eyes. She also makes weird mouth movements and gives blank stares that do not reveal a single thing about Lily. One of the most frustrating scenes in the film is when she finally confronts her father. There is supposed tension and an awkward feel. However it is laughable because Grantham seems to care more about the painting she drew for her father and the cup of water on the table. The interaction is completely unbelievable.
Grantham is only truly credible in one scene and that is when she is crossing the street. A car almost runs her over and she curses him out with real fury. Interestingly, this scene feels improvised and the reactions feel lifelike because of their unpredictability; unfortunatley this energetic scene emphasizes how lifeless all the other ones feel.
Grantham is not completely guilty. Her co-stars seem equally out-of-depth and lend little support to her leading performance. Simon Chaput, playing Grantham's boyfriend, Aaron finds no truthful emotions with Grantham and seems to have no chemistry with the actress. He looks uninterested in the whole experience and when he delivers any sort of dialogue such as "I'm Cooking for You," it feels as if he is making fun of the script. Street is stiff as Lily's mother and delivers each dialogue with emphatic breathing that makes it seem as if she was nervous or could not remember her lines.
If Grantham wanted to tell a compelling story about cancer or about the consequences, she was definitely not able to pull it off. Instead she showed a mundane portrait of everyday life with uninteresting characters. Despite only running for 87 minutes, "Lily" feels as if it has been plodding for far longer.