Elixir

An elderly former singer relives her joyful past.

This short drama brings the viewer back and forth in time as Shirley (played as a senior by Manning and as a youth by Steele) remembers her glamorous singing days while she sits at a bar named 'Elixir', being served by a young man (Otame). The bar is the same one in which decades ago she sang The Good New Days while she was a struggling singer and received acclaim. Now, the bar is dusty, yet Shirley still goes there as it is clearly a special place to her, a place where she can find happiness by being at the location where some of the happiest times of her life took place. It is indicated that her visits to the bar are frequent as while she is on her way there, the young bartender makes the appropriate preparations.

As mentioned, the narrative of this film mixes the past with the present and that occurs throughout. Thanks to Mills' creative and skillful editing, the viewer has an experience that almost feels like events from the past are coming to the present. An example would be the scenes where both versions of Shirley are signing an autograph. The parallel editing makes it apparent that Shirley is reliving her past and it is bringing her great joy.

The song The Good New Days has a significant part as it is the hit that brought recognition to Shirley when she was young and it is heard various times throughout the film, almost making it a musical. This wonderful song is one of the highlights of this short and it is sung by Steele. Also, regarding the audio, praise also goes to the beautiful and mesmerising music by Mark Doggett.

Mills' diverse contribution to this film should definitely be acknowledged. As well as being the editor, Mills is the director, co-scriptwriter and costume designer. The hard work that he put into the aspects that he was involved in is clear to see and so is the outstanding cinematography by Dominic Lake.

The character of Shirley is the protagonist. Her older self is a person who has obviously lived a content life and looks back into her past with joy and pride, because she sees how the achievements of her younger self made her live a fulfilling and happy life. Characters from the past scenes, including Bobby (Caras), a singer who she meets and Bertie (Edwards), the bartender are presented as individuals who brought happiness into her life. The same applies to the kind youth who serves her at the bar in the present as he clearly understands her and wants to help her.

Arguably, nostalgia is the main theme that is explored here. This is a story about an individual remembering the good times from the past. It is an emotional journey and its message seems to be that the good experiences that people have stay with them forever.