Parity Pipeline

Genre

Synopsis

With touches of thriller and magical realism, SHE FALLS LIKE WATER is a coming of middle-age drama which adapts the ancient Greek myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone who is taken to the underworld by Hades, and thus creates the four seasons and cycles of life. Midwestern mother DEE MORRIS (49) is content running her small-town, neighborhood favorite cafe in Iowa. She gave up her acting ambitions long ago to raise her daughter PAISLEY (mid 20s) who now is an aspiring actress in Chicago. Dee runs her cafe, a business she inherited from her mother, with the help of TINA (30s). On the opening night of Persephone, Elated, a play at a reputable theater where Paisley plays the starring role of Persephone, Paisley suddenly disappears. Dee, who has traveled to Chicago to see her daughter in the play, ravages the city madly searching for her daughter. Paisley has left behind her wallet, keys, and cellphone, and has vanished without a trace. Dee involves HARRY (50), the director of the play who is also an old classmate of Dee’s from when they attended Northwestern. Dee also enlists the help of CATE (40s), the current head of the theater department at Northwestern. Some signs point to Harry being involved with Paisley romantically, which he completely denies. Both Cate and Harry ask Dee about ZACHARY (50), a now famous actor with whom Dee has a romantic past. Dee is guarded and short fused whenever she speaks of Zachary. Miraculously, the police find Paisley floating in the Chicago river, alive. As Paisley recovers, she cannot remember where she has been for these past weeks. The doctors diagnose her with having experienced a possible dissociative fugue. Paisley returns with Dee to rest in her childhood home in Iowa. She works in her mother’s cafe, and grows closer with Tina, and feelings between them develop. Paisley notices dried up plants in starter pots. Dee shares that she was considering starting a greenhouse, and Paisley encourages her to try again. While at home, Dee attempts to control Paisley’s every move, which brings a strain in their relationship. At Dee’s 50th birthday party, Harry mentions that Paisley really needs to come back to be in the play as soon as possible to try to prevent the show from being canceled. Dee then learns that Paisley is not sure if she wants to go back to acting at all. Paisley is enjoying her life working at the cafe, which is incredibly disappointing to Dee who wants more for her daughter than she has had for herself. Paisley does return to Chicago and takes up her role in the play. Dee watches the show and could not be more proud. At dinner, following the advice of her therapist, Paisley asks her mom about her father, and says she wants to meet him. Dee is defensive, but says that she can meet him, and assures her (unconvincingly) that he knows that Paisley exists. A noticeable distance has grown between mother and daughter. Soon after, Paisley goes missing again. Dee returns to Chicago to search for her, and while she does, her own mental health and sense of reality begin to decline. Her reality blurs with the play Persephone, Elated, which tells the ancient Greek myth story of Demeter and her missing daughter Persephone. Time passes, and Dee is encouraged to go home and take care of herself. Dee returns to Iowa and her life at the cafe. She finds out from Tina that Paisley has aspirations to become a cook - something she never got to hear directly from her daughter. Now it is winter, and Dee continues to worry about her daughter, but she doesn’t know what else she can do. Dee realizes that she wants to do something else with her life, though she does not know what that would be. She also realizes how much joy Tina gets from working at the cafe, and how good she is at it. She asks Tina if she would like to take over the cafe, and Tina is thrilled. At home, Dee replants her starter seeds that had died when she went looking for Paisley due to a lack of water and care. Dee drinks a glass of water. She stands in the sun and takes a breath.