Movie : Jessica: Part Two
Director : Bilal Hussain
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
The movie immaculately traces the life of Jessica post the occurrences that takes place in the first part. Jessica has shifted from the place she previously stayed in to a relatively small apartment in the city. She expects that a considerable change of environment to have a positive effect on her life. Firmly believing in change to be the only constant Jessica desperately attempts to move on from the heartbreak she had previously suffered.
She has now become a popular night show host for a television channel. She becomes quite adept to it, turning herself into a pro as a result of the profuse presence of confidence in her own abilities. However, she still leads the life of a recluse, shying away from situations in the fear of getting unconsciously trapped in the pitfalls of life once again. Jessica prefers solitude. Solitude without any kind of treachery or deception. She meets her friends every week. Her sometimes dreadful and mostly monotonous days are rarely gleeful.
Against her monotonous course of life she meets a young man who she discovers to have a genuine liking for her. His countless persuasions of taking Jessica out on a date fails. Though he does succeed in finding a little light by the end of the movie, Jessica’s apprehensions are evident. It is clear why Jessica has carefully constructed multiple walls around her.
Jessica evidently sees an unbridgeable gap between herself and other people around her. She finds strength in being different. Her shortcomings have only made her stronger.
The movie is about scars both apparent and invisible. It is about trust and finally breaking barriers.
The screenplay is very compact. The story is told with clarity in the simplest of ways.
Nadja Dalgaard’s performance deserves a mention as well. She effortlessly gets into the character of Jessica.
The movie is about existing with heartbreaks in a world full of agony. For Jessica and many others, the fight is eternal. The choice is for them to make, whether to live on and fight with the obstacles that are coming one’s way or accepting defeat once and for all.
