CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! In Chelsea Bo’s feature film, No Right Way, no matter how much the family tree branches out, the same problems always seem to find a way to infect each limb.
Rising through the ranks of her dream job, Harper’s (Chelsea Bo) life is suddenly flipped on its head when she gets a call from Child Protective Services to come pick up her half-sister Georgie (Ava Acres). Harper and Georgie share the same father, who is on a business trip halfway around the world, so Harper must be the responsible adult and take custody of Georgie as her drug-addicted mother, Tiffany (Eliza Coupe-Marks), tries to piece her life together and properly provide for her children to get them back.
Having a sense of familial duty, Harper not only takes Georgie in to live with her in Los Angeles but realizes that Tiffany is in no condition to ever take her back. So Harper schemes with her father to gain full custody of Georgie.
That’s the overriding narrative, No Right Way is a story about two estranged half-sisters trying to find some kind of connection with one another. What the two have in common is a father who was never really around. Harper feels a sense of duty to give Georgie the family life that she never had. On the other hand, Georgie is desperately trying to return to the life she knew before her mother hooked up with her drug-dealing boyfriend.
“…Harper must be the responsible adult and take custody of Georgie…”
Chelsea Bo has a smart script on her hand in telling this family’s story, which spotlights the vast age gap between sisters and the roots of their dysfunctional upbringing. Harper is the independent one of the two who has learned how to cope with her upbringing and move on with life. Harper feels she can “save” Georgie and be the caregiver that she really needs. But like the once dysfunctional teen, Harper uses the tactics and coping mechanisms that she learned to her detriment.
Writer/director/star Chelsea Bo has an amazing handle on Harper. She plays her conflicted, wanting to do what’s right and finding the wrong way to go about it. As Georgie, Ava Acres is perfect casting as the Gen Z teen who doesn’t know what she wants in life and has buried herself in layers of various hang-ups to avoid having to confront her situation and the truth.
Also, as a low-budget film, No Right Way utilizes handheld cameras to peer in on the action. The look of the film feels grounded and lends to the story’s authenticity. If there is a negative, I’d say the conflict resolution is a bit too clean, but I love how the post-credit scene sets up the ability to tell more of Harper and Georgie’s story.
No Right Way is a beautifully written and produced story of half-sisters seen from a perspective we don’t always see in films. It’s insightful and, best of all, heart-breaking.
No Right Way premiered at the 2023 Cinequest Film Festival.
