SIREN SALON | Omeleto

A woman gets a haircut. Nancy is a housewife in the 1950s. She goes to her town's Siren Salon for the first time, where she gets her hair washed and styled. She meets her hairstylist Camille, who gets to know Nancy, asking her questions about her husband, her home and her hopes and dreams in general. Nancy also learns about the salon's signature "siren cut." But the haircut is more than it seems -- it could be altogether life-changing. Directed by Ella Grace Rodriguez and written by Daisy Noh, this stylish, subversive short drama focuses on a young housewife in the 1950s contemplating her life and looking to make a change. Though she's initially looking for a change in hairstyle, she longs to change her life, but the strict social mores of the time currently keep her stuck. The visual approach of the film is resolutely bright and cheerful, infused with a sense of vivid, Technicolor 50s retro-glamour in the design and cinematography, with colors that resemble a box of macarons and a sheen to the lighting. But part of the storytelling's power is how it undercuts this determinedly cheerful milieu as we learn more about Nancy's life. A darker undertow seeps into the narrative, and the lacquered, shiny surface of her life is not what it seems. Her husband is cruel, and her marriage is darkly disturbing in tenor. Beyond her husband's violence, Nancy is also burdened with the act of keeping up appearances, maintaining a gleaming facade to hide the ugly emotional brutality. But the physical upkeep of appearances also gives her a refuge in the cozy, sympathetic space of the Siren Salon. It's an inviting environment, full of conversation and community, and through the kindness and empathy of her stylist Camille, Nancy finds a sensitive ear that allows her the space and safety to think over her life. As Nancy, actor Madeleine Smith's subtlety and vulnerability are the emotional anchor within the film's stylization. Though she's parroting the words that she knows she should say as a wife and future mother, she knows, deep down, that her situation is dangerous and untenable. And with Camille's help, she comes to an important decision, not just about her hair, but her life. Through ingenious sleight of hand, SIREN SALON takes a twist towards the dark and subversive, much like how the visual modus operandi of the film peels back the surfaces of an idealized femininity to reveal the messiness underneath the cultural party lines. It's also a tribute to the vital social space of the beauty salon, where, historically, women have found community, information and solace. They can talk and gather with others and share their experiences; in fact, in many states, hair stylists and colorists receive training in spotting and talking about domestic violence as part of their education. Like the titular salon of the film, these beauty parlors are sometimes the only place of refuge, where the travails of their lives are met with compassion and sometimes even solutions -- though perhaps not as drastic as the one Nancy arrives at in the end. SIREN SALON. Courtesy of Ella Grace Rodriguez at Instagram: sirensalonfilm.