AVA: A Twist in the Road

In any other movie, our main character Ava might be the villain. She's the other woman. She needy, shallow, and lacking in any kind of work skills. But the situation she has been thrust into forces her into thinking about what she really wants out of the last chapters of her life.

Writer/director/lead actress is unwavering in her intentions. You can tell she knows exactly how she wants to tell this story and is more than welcome to have you along for the ride.

The themes are universal enough to reach all ages, but the character and setting refuses to be anything you've seen before. Well done!

This is a beauty of the indie film world, telling the story of an unlikely lead character who finds herself stuck in a bad situation after a tragedy. Grief is becoming a more talked about topic these days, and this film dives powerfully into that realm, with an effective nonlinear flow of the grief experience, and illustrating the importance of good friends. It offers both a cautionary tale of planning for your future, and an inspiring glimpse of meeting head on what life throws at you. With a dreamy interesting visual style and truthful acting, especially by the films' lead who is also the filmmaker, I enjoyed this unexpected indie gem.

In "Ava: A Twist in the Road," triple-threat director, writer, and actress Catherane Skillen has crafted a powerful character study that thematically explores the power of love and the overwhelming emotions associated with loss. Catherane provides a strong performance as Ava, an older woman struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of her soul mate. Her raw performance, coupled with strong supporting performances, amplifies the emotional story, and keeps the audience rooting for Ava's success. For a drama rife with pathos, the pacing is perfect and the cinematography, editing, and score all work together to support the film's message: find strength in loss.

A very strong story about loneliness and resilience! I was immersed in the journey and it is refreshing to not be watching the same bland characters that Hollywood puts on the forefront. Love that it focuses on older people. Bravo!

It's a realistic story which many will be able to relate to. It has a good mix of sad and charming. I really enjoyed Catherane Skillen's performance and see in the credits that she also wrote, directed and executive produced the film, which is not an easy task. Kudos to her for this accomplishment! One of the reasons I watch indie films is because a lot of them are based on realistic and relatable stories, unlike many mainstream films today. There are many touching, heartfelt and also awkward moments which will leave you caring for the lead, the supporting characters, and the situations they find themselves in. I cared because I actually know people like Ava, and could emphasize with her heartbreak, loss, sadness and desire to find strength to move on. I feel like one of the takeaways of this film is, "It's never too late"... Never too late to start all over again, never too late to gain your independence and confidence, never too late to let go, reinvent yourself, or start a new life. Another very important takeaway for me was the need to change when your circumstances change; importance of finding strength to overcome grief. The film felt personal in a way because I have a very close relative who was unable to recover and regain himself after loss. Seeing him wither away was a big tragedy. Glad that Skillen's character was able to let go and find inner strength to change along with her destiny.