Ms. White Light

Lex helps the dying in ways family members cannot. Family members give them pablum and lies. Lex tells them what will happen and doesn't pretend it's going to get better. She treats them as people at a time when no one else does.

Compassion comes with a price, and Lex is exhausted from paying it. What she needs is to want to live as much as her dying patients do.

This is a warm-hearted small film with a big message about grief and renewal. It is carried by Roberta Colindrez (the bright spot in "I Love Dick"), who knows how to show both Lex's sardonic exterior and her breaking heart.

I liked it.

This is a rare confluence of vision, story and simple filmmaking that exposes the imperfection of a process that is unique to us all and how the twists of life deliver to us the grit or will or determination to make everyones ending as much as a miracle as their beginning.

Within such film magic is the raw and riveting human emotions that Roberta Colindrez and Judith Light bring to the everyday pace of life's winding down that rings true in the viewers gut even in the face of the unique skill and situation Lex finds herself in.

The pace and the emotion sometimes on the surface and sometimes so deep lend this gentle story weight and trust that creates the magic and reminds the viewer to not take anything at face value and to understand we must all take this journey and do with it the best that can.

And for all this the movie begs to be seen and once experienced leave an imprint on your psyche. Thank you Paul Shoulberg.

Very well written, with minimal flaws. The direction is very good, as is the acting of its few characters. The story is very original, entertaining, and involving.

The theme is very unusual, closure when someone is dying, with an off-the-wall approach, not exactly a drama. It is unrealistic, with unusual characters, charming and funny, but not a dark comedy. It's more like a light farce, but one that forces very serious questions.

The focus is not on the tragic, nor on the gross aspects of death. The movie insulates us from that, and amuses, while making one think. The focus is on the philosophical -- with an small "f", very down to earth. The story pulls us in a gentle manner, with some laughs, but constantly touching on sad aspects. Yet, its not a sad story, nor a comedy either, nor too deep.

One has to be in the mood, of course. Even in this light approach, death is a difficult subject. A topic most people tend to avoid, till it it forces itself close, when one is hardly ready. But that's part of what this movie does, in a gentle and kind way, with laughs that distract, make us think about it -- as we should sometime.

I am very glad I watched it.

Great performance by all the actors. The movie could easily be performed as a play with its stark scenery and well paced conversation.

Lex Cordova (Roberta Colindrez) works for and lives with her father to counsel the dying in their last days. She's sardonic and bitter. Somehow, her darkness allows her to connect with her clients and work through their fears. Nora and Val (Judith Light) are two of her clients.

Colindrez is playing the character wrong. At first, I thought the character is autistic. They need to get rid of the cards. She's studying them like she's autistic or suffering from OCD. It would be better if she has memorized them from her father. She's smart enough to do that. The point is that her character is too blunt to speak normally with normal people. That's the angle. She is too blunt to live.

The dying would prefer to talk bluntly especially about their fears. That's the reciprocating angle. She can still be sardonic and bitter. Her performance is off slightly and it throws the movie off-kilter. One can see the best version of this movie seemingly just out of reach. It needs some small calibrations. There is great humor going with both Nora and Val. The dad needs to chill a little. I totally get where Spencer is coming from but that ain't happening in a million years. For that to happen, we need another actress.