As the story unfolds, we find out that Myrtle was in an ill-fated relationship with one of the black men who worked on her father’s farm, although it seems she could never fully relinquish the racist ideals drilled into her in fear for what others would think. She is angry about the ‘lazy’ youth of today, and her views on race are inexcusably bigoted. She speaks like a grand orator, perhaps due to being raised in an extremely religious time where pastors would deliver sermons full of vehemence. Evidence of his writing is most prolific throughout Myrtle’s dialogue. Tsegay and Buss balance each other perfectly, illuminating each other in different ways to reveal deeper elements of their personalities both to each other and to the audience. She brings a great sensitivity and understanding, while also challenging Myrtle’s behavior. Tsegay is a worthy counter to Buss – reserved and patient, but also strong-willed. Buss manages to capture the scope of the character, not shying away from the less than unsavory aspects of Myrtle’s personality.

Buss is delightfully cranky and mysterious at Myrtle’s best, bigoted and rude at her worst. The performances of Mary Buss and Merhawit Tsegay are strong points of connection for the audience as they create truly engaging characters. Regardless of this, the underlying themes of love, age, and loss do sing clearly throughout. The fragmentation of the narrative represents how Myrtle shares a little of her story at a time, but unfortunately this does occasionally make the story hard to follow. The contrast is purposeful, managing to highlight discrepancies between nostalgia and reality – the danger of equating age with dogmatic wisdom, denying the youth their time to grow and make change. A sharp contrast between America’s racial inequalities and the country’s nostalgia is drawn, but also blurred as they are both part of the same timeline. These allusions create a very specific foundation for the film, one that perhaps feels at odds with the main narrative exploring Myrtle’s life in the Deep South. A different type of iconography, but iconic all the same. Some elements of the film are also reminiscent of Bonnie and Clyde, especially Arthur Penn’s depiction in the 1967 film. Merten’s use of archival footage from the 20s and 30s gives a sense of nostalgia, creating roots in a certain American identity by overtly channeling icons such as Amelia Earhart. The film stars Mary Buss as Myrtle, a 90 something year old grouch and Merhawit Tsegay as Season, a fresh-faced caregiver taking over from Myrtle’s usual nurse who is going away for a week. After publishing his manuscript in 2017, Al Mertens brings Thank You, Amelia Earhart to the screen.

Thank you amelia