BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME (IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, I LOVE YOU)

Michael Govier and Will McCormack's 'If Anything Happens, I Love You' is a real gut punch of a short film and that's before ii even gets to its big reveal.

A 12 minute Netflix animation about parents grieving the loss of a 10 year old daughter, it is a modest reflection on a heartbreaking scenario that many people unfortunately have experienced.

Losing a child to sudden death or illness is a bitter blow for any family to absorb.

It just goes against the natural order for someone to die so young.

A young life taken in tragic circumstances is even harder to bear.

At the start of Govier and McCormack's most black and white animation, a couple sit at the dinner table hunched over their meals in silence.

The table is long - emphasising the distance that has developed between them.

And above their heads, shadows of themselves act out rowing that has obviously has been taking place.

The woman sadly toys with the meatballs on her plate.

Eventually the husband gets up and leaves.

Govier and McCormack give us a series of images of the couple separately going about their business in the house - the woman collecting the laundry from the washing machine, the husband staring at a blue paint stain on a wall as he is in the garden.

It becomes clear they are mourning a daughter and everywhere they look triggers memories.

A football rolls into their daughter's bedroom and knocks on a record player while the mum weeps into a favourite blue t-shirt of their daughter's.

It plays a favourite song and soon she and her husband are sitting on the girl's bed, watching their cat having an imaginary dance with their daughter.

Their shadow selves re-enact the story of their daughter's life and the horror of what took her life is revealed.

This packs a huge political punch and it is revealed the title of the animation 'If Anything Happens, I Love You' is actually a text message from the daughter.

Govier and McCormack take a simple story of loss and use it to reflect on an issue that has become a blight on US society.

Unfortunately events like those that take the child's life are all too common and the regularity of them should be a source of national shame.

Yet a lot of politicians seem unwilling to address the problem.

By keeping things simple and tugging at the heart strings, Govier and McCormack's animated short does a very effective job hammering home the terrible loss inflicted on the couple.

It is a powerful 2D animated short, backed by Laura Dern as an executive producer, which also cleverly uses Lindsay Marcus' music and King Princess's pop song '1950' to great effect.

If it wins on Oscar night, it would be hard to disagree with the result.

But if it fires up even a small section of its audience in the US to pressurise politicians to address the issue it highlights, that would be a greater achievement.

('If Anything Happens, I Love You' was made available for streaming on Netflix on November 20, 2020)