If Anything Happens I Love You
Directed by Will McCormack, Michael Govier
- drama
- animation
The story
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
What it’s like
Hand-drawn animation in soft, muted pencil-and-watercolor tones: dusty greys, the dull blue of a bedroom at night, and kitchens lit by a single warm lamp that never quite reaches the corners. The camera holds still on ordinary domestic spaces, the strokes of the drawing visibly wavering, so the frame feels like a memory being slowly reconstructed. Sound is sparse, with a low, hushed score, long stretches of near silence, and the small domestic noises of a house that has gone too quiet. Its vibe is quiet grief and tender sorrow, a short piece suited to a still evening alone or to a moment when you want to sit with loss rather than be distracted from it. The pacing is slow and deliberate, and the emotional register is raw and sentimental, following two parents moving through the days after a child's death. Its subject is a school shooting, which is referenced rather than shown; the film contains no on-screen gunfire or gore, but the aftermath is heavy and tears are frequent throughout. It suits viewers who want a gentle but devastating cry about parental grief and are prepared for its social weight.
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