I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking), review
I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking)
UK release: 3 March 2023
Director: Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina
Starring: Wesley Moss, Kelley Kali, Dominique Molina
Review by Abiba Coulby
I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) opens to a serene, scenic valley with bees buzzing amongst the wildflowers, besides a pale-blue tent in which Danny and her 8-year old daughter, Wes, ease into their morning routine on a mother-daughter camping trip. But not all is as it seems. Danny, played by the film’s writer and director Kelley Kali, exudes perspiration and desperation - both of which only increase throughout the film - that belie the recreational happy camper.
This is not a holiday, but a temporary housing situation. Danny’s commitment to portraying it as the former demonstrates her sheer will and maternal protectiveness towards her daughter - already disrupted by the recent death of her father and the ongoing COVID pandemic - two characteristics which will propel her through the particularly chaotic day ahead. On their way to the childminders, Wes has clearly had enough, and Danny sets out to make her dubious promise of them having a house - the solid, non-deflatable kind - true by pick-up time.
Setting off in leopard-print skates and an eye-catching outfit picked out by Wes, Danny glides with determination throughout the sun-drenched streets of LA, picking up side hustles from hair braiding to takeout delivery.
But her sunny demeanour and setting aren’t enough to weather the storm ahead; stuck between clients who come up with all sorts of excuses not to pay, and an expectant realtor who won't be short changed, Danny has zero leeway. The knock on effects of these issues see her day progressively spiral until she’s physically, emotionally and financially drained, while fending off unwanted advances and unexpected tent visits, in a narrative that succeeds in generating a deep sympathy for Danny, without portraying her as a helpless victim.
Far too often, proposals of assistance are accompanied by sexual harassment, which Danny firmly rebuffs, despite much needed cash being quite literally dangled in front of her at times. From the insincere solace of her late husband’s best friend, to persistent kerb-side harassment - a characteristically humorous cameo from co-producer Deon Cole - the predatory pitfalls of single motherhood are made evident.
Friends aren’t much more help, offering superficial and insensitive distractions - “adopt a puppy!” insists one, while another, increasingly reckless girlfriend offers up a mysteriously laced joint and interrogations about post-bereavement dating. Rather than shut down these platitudes, Danny continually puts on a brave face keeping up appearances and maintaining that all is fine (hence the film’s title), with Kali’s naturalistic performance capturing the exhaustion and resilience this requires.
Danny’s errands take us back and forth between the concrete jungle of Pacoima with its vibrant street art and Latin American neighbourhoods, and the actual wilderness of a remote canyon down a dirt track. Both prove to be hostile environments with their own specific challenges: in the city Danny is constantly trying not to bump into acquaintances and finds their interactions excruciating when she does; in the makeshift campsite, mother and daughter are exposed to the elements, but isolated from help when danger threatens.
This realist approach ceases only once, to purposeful effect, during a daydream sequence in which Danny is plunged into a body of water. The things she so desperately needs float around her, yet remain just out of grasp as she works hard to stay afloat, a fitting metaphor for her reality above water.
The film's honest realism is returned to as it takes an extremely pragmatic approach to resolving Danny’s desire for something so simple, in fact a basic human right - adequate shelter for her and her daughter. I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) combines the humanism and political critique of Ken Loach with the soulful interrogations into West Coast homelessness of The Last Black Man in San Francisco, making for a hard-hitting debut that explores single motherhood, premature grief, and the housing crisis which the heartfelt sensitivity these topics require.