My High, My Low

Description

'My High, My Low' is a story about ageism; the internalised view of ourselves and our value based on our age. Eve, a retired female bodybuilder, is settled into her routines, to the point of feeling completely uninspired in her day-to-day life as a gym owner. She is a legend in the gym yet she feels irrelevant. She takes comfort in the memories of the past when she was on top of her game. When the opportunity to take part in a weightlifting competition arises, she decides to participate. Offering a character study of temptation, Eve’s desire to win is driven by her fear of being unimportant, a side character in her own story. While training intensifies, the amounting pressures push her to revert to unethical tactics, the forbidden fruit, steroids. In the end, she will come to terms with her own struggle as she reflects with her partner Adam on what happened. Having accepted herself and her age, she realises it is time for her to move on and live the gym life behind.

Biblical Connection

‘My High, My Low’ is an adaptation of Adam and Eve’s story from Genesis 2:4-3:24. Our aim is to take the story of the original sin, and make an in-depth character study of the sinner. If we pause and think about what made Eve eat fruit from the forbidden tree, many unexplored layers come up. Was she bored in her seemingly perfect life, or did she feel unimportant and wanted to reframe the narrative? In our adaptation, we give Eve a backstory and explore the dissatisfaction that she feels in her perfect, but slightly mundane life. We touch on ageism, how we self-limit our behaviour based on internalised stereotypes about what a person of a given age it’s supposed to do or be. Against this backdrop, we can understand her conflict and temptation. At the end, the film is about the process of accepting oneself and the consequences of our actions.