I will freely admit that I entered my viewing experience with DISC with a very strong set of expectations. The trailer looked visceral, dramatic, and hinted to me as the viewer that this was going to be really sexual in nature. And in a way it is. You meet the two main characters after they have had a night together. But that’s not the focus of DISC. It’s what comes afterwards when the woman can’t get her menstrual disc out. That’s when you realize this short film is kind of a romance.
The story for DISC is very tight and simple. Alex (Victoria Ratermanis) and Carey (Jim Cummings) had a one-night stand, she has a presentation to do in the morning, and she can’t get her disc out. As someone who has used a cup before, there is a little bit of a panic when you can’t get the cup out even though you know it has no place to go. So, relatable. But that’s when the unthinkable happens, she asks him for help in getting the disc out. And even more shockingly enough, he agrees to help.
Even though DISC is shot in a specific way that reminds me of Jordan Peele and his simple yet eerie shots combined with a great soundtrack, there is nothing inherently sexy about what is happening here. It’s just one person helping another. But it’s the director’s ability to transform the simple moment into something that looks chilling, painful, and intimate. And I couldn’t help but think while watching this, how if you switched up the soundtrack, this would be a completely different story. It goes to show you the power of music and how it elevates works like DISC.
Now on to the romance of it all.
I thought I was just watching a weird slice of life kind of short film when it comes to DISC. But when the disc is out, when she realizes that this guy helped her even though he truly didn’t understand what he was doing, there’s a moment between these two. A moment where they lock eyes and it just clicks for them. Because women are consistently shamed for the normal occurrences that happen with our own bodies. But here is this guy, barely knowing her, and still willing to help her.
This woman has found her man, boyfriend, husband, etc. Because if he will do this highly intimate thing for you and not get the “ick” or try to shame you for a natural body occurrence, that someone you can trust in bigger aspects of your life. And I love how DISC showed this fundamental trust between these two in the most unconventional way. That’s why she smiled at the end. Because she knew she had found someone worth getting to know. And it happened because she couldn’t get her menstrual disc out.
Disc streamed at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
