Laura Smiles

“Laura Smiles” offers a strikingly effective depiction of a woman’s descent into mental turmoil. We first meet Laura during the happiest period of her life, deeply in love with her fiancé (played charmingly by Kip Pardue) in the city, who is truly the love of her life. Through flashbacks, we witness the tender evolution of their relationship, presented in a non-linear fashion, as these vividly bright and colorful memories forcefully intrude upon her later years. As she becomes engulfed by guilt and regret over his fate, these emotions begin to overshadow her current existence as a wife and mother. In her so-called “suburban drudgery,” seemingly trivial events—whether at the supermarket, while cooking, cleaning, or attending a school play—trigger memories of the past. In response, she starts behaving increasingly erratically to combat the emotions they stir, especially as she struggles to differentiate between past, present, and dreams, reminiscent of Blanche Du Bois.