Malia Obama might be the daughter of a former world leader, but she’s keeping things subtle with her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival. For one thing, she’s dropped the “Obama” from her name to go by “Malia Ann.” Also, if you were expecting some kind of political thriller, or a Lady Bird-like coming-of-age piece about a young woman growing up in a very big, white house, think again.
Obama’s 18-minute narrative short film The Heart is a quiet story about a man named Joshua (Tunde Adebimpe) who lives with his mother (LaTonya Borsay). We open to a black screen and listen in on a strange, half-hearted argument. Joshua has failed to bring milk home along with the other groceries, and although he insists the store ran out, his mother doesn’t seem to believe him. Later that night, she dies from a heart attack while he’s upstairs in the shower. As we come to find out, her will contains a strange request: She wants her heart preserved in a jar for posterity.
As far as Sundance short films go, The Heart is pretty par for the course—it’s subtle, it’s somewhat strange, and its visuals are warm and lo-fi. In her “Meet the Artist” video, Obama describes the production as “somewhat of a fable” and adds, “The film is about lost objects and lonely people, forgiveness and regret. But I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”
Yes, yes, of course—[sips tea and adjusts monocle]—but more importantly, is this short film any good?
On the whole, The Heart is a solid but mostly forgettable short film. There’s plenty of technique on display, from its well composed shots to its homey, nostalgic color palette, but the story and performances ring a little empty—as though a piece is missing. On an emotional level, at least, The Heart actually is a little lifeless.
Obama, now 25, clearly picked up some solid filmmaking chops during her time at Harvard, where she reportedly focused on Visual and Environmental Studies. Her previous production experiences include writing for Donald Glover’s Swarm in 2021 and working and/or interning on series including Girls and Halle Berry’s CBS sci-fi drama Extant. Obama also interned for the Weinstein Company in 2017, before allegations against Harvey Weinstein made national news. In spite of Obama’s technical accomplishments, however, it’s hard not to wish that The Heart felt a little more personal. Ironically, given its title, the short feels a little too intellectually driven—devoid of real feeling.
The short film’s climax is more confusing than anything, and not just because Josh is riding a bus home with the heart on full display beside him. (Did no one think to give him a paper bag for that thing?) Along the way, he spots a woman who looks just like his mother. Despite her protestations that she does not know him and has never met him, Josh proceeds to explain why he failed to buy the milk on the day she died, but only after he’s made her drop all her groceries on the ground. As Josh tearfully explains himself, his forcibly adopted surrogate mother tells him the quarrel is “nothing to cry about” just before the camera cuts to a shot of the spilled milk on the ground. (Get it?)
After the two part ways, a final shot of the inside of the bus reveals the heart that Josh left behind, sitting on its seat alone. OK.
As a former First Daughter—and one whose family endured an untold amount of racist harassment in the media—the stakes for Obama’s debut effort feel a little higher than your average first-timer at Sundance. Speaking with GQ last year, Donald Glover himself recalled telling his protégée that the quality of her first film would be paramount. “You’re Obama’s daughter,” he recalled telling her. “So if you make a bad film, it will follow you around.”
The Heart is not a bad film, and it’s certainly not awful enough to follow Obama or anyone around; really, it’s about what you’d expect from a young filmmaker who is still relatively fresh in the game. If nothing else, the intention behind it is admirable enough to hope that Obama keeps exploring what she has to say as a filmmaker. “We hope that you enjoy the film,” she said during her “Meet the Artist” session, “and that it makes you feel a bit less lonely—or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.”
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