Chelsea Lupkin
Kelly Pike’s Undercut never explicitly reveals what it’s about and yet from the moment the camera lingers a little too long on a flickering fluorescent ceiling light, you know what it’s about. In the wake of the “Me Too” era, Pike’s compelling film shifts our perspective toward the social constructs and sexual messaging that keeps young women from speaking up, in a coming-of-age story we all wish didn’t exist. Incredibly nuanced, Undercut is a slow-burn drama that will shake you out of your complacency and reframe the conversation surrounding sexual assault survivors.
“I want to re-focus the narrative of sexual assault away from the easily-pointed-to monsters of the story”
When a high school field hockey freshman comes back onto the field, she struggles to trust her voice. In the span of a few moments, a young woman finds herself at odds with the people and places that should feel safe, and this is what makes Pike’s film so special. Often in films tackling these subjects our attention is on the act of assault and those involved, but rarely do we see the aftermath portrayed with such vulnerability. “With Undercut, I want to re-focus the narrative of sexual assault away from the easily-pointed-to monsters of the story, and turn the lens towards the environment these girls live in day-to-day and how that effects their ability to process such incidents.” The film does not show the abuse or abuser, but zeroes in on a young woman’s internal struggle as she comes to terms with her experience, in a world that keeps her silenced.
According to Pike, we live in a culture that has trained its women and girls to doubt their own voices and experience – she’s not wrong. Undercut expertly unveils why victims might not come forward, pointing the finger at flaws in our very culture to better understand and shed light on a larger social issue at play. “I believe every utterance of the question ‘why didn’t she come forward earlier?’ is proof that we need to further understand the experience of women and girls in this position,” Pike explains. Experiencing such trauma in the face of social expectations and budding sexuality, in a society that encourages women to be sexualized, is already problematic in and of itself. Johnny Sequoyah (Dexter: New Blood), who plays Emmie, gives a harrowing performance that breathes life into this horrific situation and unravels the social codes that prevent survivors from speaking out.
Johnny Sequoyah (L) as Emmy in Kelly Pike’s Undercut
Pike’s optimistic that with more media outlets covering sexual assault stories, audience will be more receptive to the necessary conversations surrounding them and hopes that her film will empower survivors. Up until the last minute of the film, Undercut refrains from speaking its truth, perhaps in the hope that more women might fill that void in the future. Symbolically, using a sport to ground the storyline, Undercut was shot with a real field hockey team and feels as tension-filled as the game itself. A powerful account of an all too familiar issue, Undercut is a film that is an especially important story, captured with empathy.
Undercut received the Jury Award at the Austin Film Festival and Savannah Film Festival as well as the Gold Circle Award at the Caucus of Producers, Writers, & Directors. It also played at Palm Springs ShortFest and Galway Film Fleadh. Pike’s latest short film Picture Day premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest in 2022 and has just started it’s festival run.