Fish Out Of Water (2023) – Movie Review and Summary (with Spoilers)

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Film Summary

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Alexis is struggling. She lives in a motel with her son Tyler, and she is a sex worker. Mind you, that was never the goal; she wanted to be an LPN, especially after the experience of taking care of her mom, Anna. However, between getting pregnant, the father bailing, and the lack of help she got from her alcoholic father, Robert, this became her way to survive.

But, with Robert getting better, he presents the idea he has changed, but will Alexis believe him after all he put her through?

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Alexis

Alexis is in her twenties and got pregnant before she got to go to college. Because of that, paired with the challenge of trying to take care of her mom and her dad being an alcoholic, she eventually decided to live independently, which hasn’t gone too well so far.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Little Fires Everywhere.”

Tyler

Tyler is Alexis’ son, who she does her best to protect from her decisions.

Anna

Anna is Alexis’ mom, who has dementia.

Robert

Robert is Alexis’ dad, who is just starting to get his life back together, and with him gaining employment, it seems he’d like Alexis to return to assist with taking care of her mom.

Review

Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)

Highlights

Well Use Of Its Time Length

“Fish Out OF Water” might be the longest short we’ve watched from the Tribeca Film Festival at 25 minutes, and it uses its time length well. It almost feels like an episode that wants to quickly establish the main players and everyone’s goals, and the only thing that is missing is a trailer of what’s to come. For you get to know everyone enough to gain some form of attachment and even hope that, for their current goals and plans, they will come to fruition rather than be yet another disappointment in their lives.

The Long Road To Forgiveness

It’s clear by the end of the short that, as much as Anna and Tyler need them, Robert and Alexis aren’t going to heal their relationship overnight. She holds many memories of what he has done that he’d like to put behind him, and with her recent actions, he holds something over her to try to coerce her to move on. The push and pull between her wanting a better life but wanting to hold her dad accountable, with him needing help with Anna but not wanting to be damned for what he has done in the past makes for a notable tug of war that is likely to take weeks, maybe months to fix. Especially as Robert, with his new job, begins a new life away from the house and, if things go on the trajectory we’re left with, potentially leaving Alexis to handle the woman he basically abandoned before.

General Information

Director(s)	Francesca Scorsese
Screenplay By	Francesca Scorsese, Megan Lulu Taylor, Savannah Braswell
Based On	N/A
Date Released (Film Festival – Tribeca Film Festival)	June 19, 2023
Genre(s)	Drama, Young Adult
Film Length	25 Minutes
Content Rating	Not Rated
Noted Characters and Cast
Alexis	Jade Pettyjohn
Tyler	Legend Lolli
Anna	Welker White
Robert	Steve Witting

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