A Mind at War With Itself

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MOVIE REVIEW
Piecing The Remnants
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Genre: Drama, Film Noir, Thriller
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 34 minutes
Director(s): Jacob Patrick Conway
Writer(s): Jacob Patrick Conway
Cast: Elijah Bourne
Where to Watch: shown at the 2025 Art is Alive Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: PIECING THE REMNANTS is the kind of film that doesn’t shy away from the messy truth of struggle. It isn’t content to skim the surface of mental health as a theme — it dives directly into the complicated layers of depression, anxiety, and inherited trauma that follow a person through their daily life. Writer/director Jacob Patrick Conway crafts a story that refuses the easy answers. Instead, it offers an emotionally grounded experience that walks through the shadows with its protagonist rather than observing from a safe distance.

The film centers on a young man wrestling with the weight of feelings he didn’t ask for and can’t explain. Elijah Bourne delivers a performance built on vulnerability — not loud, expressive suffering, but the quieter kind that gnaws at you beneath the surface. His portrayal reflects the reality of mental illness: it doesn’t always look dramatic to the outside world, but inside, it feels impossible to escape. That internal struggle becomes the driving force of the narrative.

PIECING THE REMNANTS leans into film noir influences to visualize emotion. The darkness isn’t simply aesthetic — it’s symbolic. Harsh shadows cut across scenes like unresolved memories. Angled framing suggests instability. The world around the character becomes a physical manifestation of his mental state. The stylistic choices never feel like an excuse to be flashy; instead, they deepen the audience’s understanding of the psychological terrain he’s forced to navigate.

What makes the film especially compelling is its approach to trauma as an inherited force. Conway’s screenplay recognizes that pain doesn’t always start with the person experiencing it. Family histories have long arms, and sometimes the very emotions someone feels most ashamed of are the scars of someone else’s unresolved battles. The film frames this generational weight not as destiny but as a burden the protagonist must learn to truly see before he can ever hope to heal from it.

Throughout the film, anxiety is treated not as a single issue but as something that bleeds into every moment — conversations, routines, relationships, even self-reflection. Bourne gives us a man who appears functional on the outside, yet is constantly broken on the inside. There are sequences where silence says more than dialogue, allowing viewers to feel the suffocation of thoughts piling up faster than he can manage. In those moments, the noir aesthetic reinforces emotional claustrophobia — the walls aren’t just closing in, they’re closing in psychologically.

Conway’s direction incorporates thriller elements without exploiting mental health for dramatic effect. The tension comes from within the character’s mind — the fear that he can’t control who he is or what he may become. Instead of presenting external threats, the film focuses on internal ones. Will he give in to destructive impulses? Will he believe he’s worthy of healing? There is fear, but it’s grounded in reality — the fear of living with yourself when you feel broken.

There are also moments of tenderness — glimpses of life beyond struggle. The film isn’t a downward spiral but a search for grounding. When the protagonist begins to piece together the remnants of his history, the film avoids prescribing a single path to recovery. It simply shows how acknowledging pain can be a pivotal act of strength. The ending doesn’t tie things up neatly — instead, it leaves space for hope while acknowledging that healing is an ongoing process.

Noir often explores cynicism, with characters convinced that redemption is unattainable. What makes this film unique is how it bends noir toward a more compassionate approach. While despair is present and real, the work invites the possibility of rebuilding rather than succumbing to darkness entirely. Even the title suggests a process — not ignoring damage, not pretending it doesn’t shape you — but carefully stitching together what remains after hardship.

This makes PIECING THE REMNANTS a fitting inclusion for the Art Is Alive Film Festival. It celebrates an artist willing to engage with the human condition, using cinema not to glamorize struggle but to illuminate its truth. Conway demonstrates strong storytelling instincts, grounded character focus, and a visual tone that complements rather than distracts. It’s a film created with clear empathy and intention.

PIECING THE REMNANTS is not a film that wants viewers to look away — it asks them to sit with discomfort and recognize the bravery in confronting their own mind. For anyone who has ever felt weighed down by shadows they didn’t create, this story acknowledges that experience with respect. And for those who haven’t, it offers a window into that world — one that encourages empathy rather than judgment.

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