Desmond’s Not Here Anymore

This sparsely worded film is a reflection on the ravages of dementia and sexual abuse in families. It shows a distressed Abigail packing up the house of her beloved mother, Selma, who is suffering from advanced dementia. The gentle daughter intends moving her mother to her own home, where she can care for her better, but Selma cannot comprehend this and repeatedly calls for the absent Desmond. Matters come to a head when Selma refuses to blow out her birthday candles because she is waiting for Desmond. Increasingly agitated, she physically attacks her daughter. As Abigail retreats sobbing, Selma suddenly recalls her guilt at being unable to protect her daughter as a teenager from a sexual abuser and fleetingly resumes her old mothering role.