Cicely’s insular nature with closeup shots, and as she opens up

The pursuit of safety in the film is tangible. Cicely’s cries for her father, she often reminisces about the safety she felt around him (as opposed to how unsafe she felt around her mother’s lover), act as her building a safe haven for herself, pulling the audience through her own metamorphosis. Throughout the film, the camera homes in on Cicely’s insular nature with closeup shots, and as she opens up, she becomes comfortable with naked self-portraiture. In this visual journey the camera doesn’t so much leer, but quietly studies and encourages her..

The language of the film is calm and cool. Conversations between Cicely, and her ex-boyfriend Joel, played by Ron Cephas Jones, feel like everyday conversations between lovers. “You’re new and improved, just gotta look in the mirror,” Joel tells Cicely, as they intimately gaze into each other’s eyes on the couch.