Rock, Paper, Scissors Review: The Impactful Beauty in the Little Things
Sometimes life slows you down to experience its small beauties.
Rock, Paper, Scissors is a short film about an elderly woman just barely missing a train, yet still finding beauty in a small interaction between two young people awaiting their trains on opposite platforms.
In this silent indie short, Directors Alex Kweskin and Lauren Ward, tell the story of a tiny, impactful connection. They introduce the audience to an elderly woman who is traveling late at night and has missed her train home by a hair. To make matters worse, the next train is 23 minutes away.
There’s a beautiful moment in the story where the woman sits on the nearest bench, drops her bags, and sighs to convey that she’s accepted the fact that she won’t be home for a little while longer. New Yorkers and transplants know this feeling all too well, and the only thing that can lighten the load of that realization is a seat.
This is when she becomes the observer of the endearing exchange amongst two young adults.
As a viewer, becoming a spectator alongside the older lady is a feeling of inclusion within the film.
Now, the story has shifted to a young man and woman who decide to play a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors from opposite sides of the platform.
It’s sentimental, playful, lighthearted and wholesome. This exchange is an example of the gems life grants you when you let go, slow down, and breathe.
However, when the connection is cut short, they are forced to end their game and go their separate ways. But Kweskin and Ward build the tension once more when the young lady disappears after the train arrives.
“Is she okay” and “was she real” are questions that surface just before the answers are confirmed.
In just five minutes, the audience is taken on a journey that lingers well after the credits roll.
This amazing indie short film premiered at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
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