Sam Shainberg’s “Endless Sea” opens on a dreary metropolitan street where it looks like freezing rain has been pouring all morning. Carol (Brenda Cullerton) has a collection of recyclables she deposits for a little extra pocket change. She then enters a pharmacy to pick up her prescription for heart meds and gets dreadful news that they are now “tier 4” and that her co-pay has gone up to $365. We gradually learn that she earns a meager living as a flower delivery person and depends greatly on tips. Luckily, it’s Valentine’s Day and business is booming, but hardly anyone carries cash anymore.
So, we follow poor Carol as she navigates one delivery after another, occasionally making five bucks, but mostly getting wads of singles and some quarters, or, worse, not being allowed to go into the building to deliver the flowers in person, but having to leave them at the front desk. This whole sequence almost plays like a thriller as we hope against hope that Carol can somehow scrounge up enough money to pay for her life-or-death medication, while constantly being put on hold by Medicaid and getting nowhere with her doctor or any government office that might provide a silver lining.
“Endless Sea” is the kind of short film that economically opens a big window into a life built on bad decisions. We know very little about Carol as the film progresses, but we can tell what kind of worker she is, what kinds of struggles she faces on a daily basis, and, by the film’s end, what mistakes she may have made and the bridges she has burned throughout her life. Shainberg never spells out what happened to Carol, but no one deserves to have the rug pulled out from under them by random acts of price gouging that make it difficult to acquire life-saving medication.
Cullerton is a hell of a find and has very few acting credits, at least on screen. She reminds me of a character from a Safdie Brothers movie, and looks like she has been through a situation like this in real life. Shainberg directs the film as such, with everyone around her looking like they are stopping their workday to be in this one scene.
“Endless Sea” is an ingenious short that works as a character study, a workplace film, an indictment on our health system, a cautionary tale, and, like I said, a thriller. It’s a brisk 17 minutes that puts the viewer through many stressful and heartbreaking moments, reminding them that there are too many people out there in our country who are dangerously close to being in Carol’s shoes.
Q&A with director Sam Shainberg
How did this come about?
“Endless Sea” came from a feature project I wrote, which comprised six short vignettes. All six were about my hatred for arbitrary, unjust rules. Often, rules are imposed upon us by the state or some form of bureaucracy. During the writing process on that project, I was in the pharmacy on my street in Brooklyn, and I witnessed an elderly woman try to steal her heart medication.
The pharmacist, who is a friend and a Yemeni CrossFit champion, beat her to the door by a mile, and I thought there was going to be a confrontation, but in fact, what transpired was an incredibly sweet moment. Sam, the pharmacist, stopped her and said he understood how hard this was, that he was sorry, and that they would try to work something out. He then took her back to his office to find a solution. That whole experience stuck with me and became the seed for “Endless Sea.”
Where did you find Brenda Cullerton? I was surprised she didn’t have more IMDb credits.
Ah, yes, Brenda… she is total magic in life and on screen, and she is nothing like the role in real life. In real life, she is as chic as they come, the queen of Greenwich Village. I met Brenda when I showed the script to my then-girlfriend, who said I should meet her friend’s mom, a comic and powerhouse of a woman, and that turned out to be Brenda. Then Brenda and I hit it off and began reworking the role to incorporate her voice. It was her first acting role, and she approached it like a total pro… it was amazing to see it happen. We had tears on set during some of those takes. Particularly at the buzzer when her daughter rejects her and in the Social Security office.
The rest of the cast around her look like they were on the job while you filmed them. How did you go about achieving this kind of authenticity?
The cast was about 49% friends of mine, and the other 49% were Eleonore Hendricks, the casting director, and I, who went out and found them. Mostly just amazing non-actors. The final 2% were people whom we just delivered flowers to or captured in small documentary moments. I want to just highlight Eleanore’s contribution – she just sprinkles so much magic on every project that she does. She was by my side for most of the shoot or in constant contact, and her filmmaking/emotional IQ is just through the roof. Even with my friends and family that were in the film, she helped select them and guide them… She is amazing. Someone I never want to work without.
I would say that for a lot of this team–really all of them–I would love to never make a movie without Daniel Zuniga, Rachel Walden, Carlos Wong, and Luca Balser, if possible. These people are amazing, as is the whole crew of “Endless Sea.” I wish I could list them all here. Boris, the sound man… Everyone.
What has the audience response been like to this film? Do people often tell you their horror stories with the healthcare system?
In general, the response has been amazing. I think the film really makes you feel what that moment in someone’s life is like. At least that is what we have heard from audiences. And, yes, we have gotten a lot of heartfelt responses from people who have been in these situations, which seems to be close to everyone in the US on some level. That has been really meaningful as they often tell us how clear and honest a depiction of that emotional space the film is.
Carol is a fascinating character I want to learn more about. Do you have a longer film in mind about her backstory?
Yeah, so there is a feature version of the film in the works called “HEART.” It’s set in a slightly heightened reality or very, very near future version of New York, and it works hard to imagine and depict the worst political and ecological outcomes for the working class in New York. We just cast the amazing Deirdre O’Connell in the lead and Brenda in a supporting role. We are currently looking for financing and additional cast to bolster the package. So if anyone out there can help, please come find me. I think it will be a really important and exciting film.
What else is next for you?
Well… “HEART” is high on the docket for sure. I am also currently in Indonesia shooting test footage for a Neo-realist thriller set in the far east of the country. That film, “Pasola,” is about a guy who has rejected traditional spirituality in favor of capitalism, a life strategy that fails him when gangsters come to collect on a loan, and he is chased home. Once on his ancestral island, he is forced to go on the run into the jungle with his son, where he reluctantly teaches him traditional skills and explains traditional spirituality. Through this ordeal and their experiences, he slowly reconnects with his roots and his family’s ancient way of life.
