'Fork In The Road' tells a heartbreaking story about a same-sex couple, Lorena and Tracy. Lately, it seems like their relationship has been kind of rocky, to say the least. Fighting constantly over the same thing, both of them are now faced with a very difficult choice. The title is pretty significant and quite symbolic of what happens in the movie. There are multiple “forks” throughout the plot.

 

The first fork is faced by Tracy, who doesn’t want to talk to her religiously conservative parents about her sexuality, seemingly making her life more difficult. The second fork is faced by Lorena, who chooses to sleep with Jose instead of just going home and sleeping it off. The third and final fork is probably the most significant and the most polarizing one. After her one night stand with her male friend, Lorena shows signs of being pregnant. The last shot of the film, with her looking into the camera indecisively while next to the Planned Parenthood building is probably one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the short.

 

No one wants to be put in that situation, but what is she to do? Her relationship with Tracy seems to have run its course after Tracy goes silent when Lorena asks “Not from him or not with me?”. In this situation, a Frank Ocean lyric from the song “We All Try” springs to mind: “I believe a woman’s temple give her the right to choose, but the baby doesn’t abort”.

 

The characters’ backstories should be a little bit more fleshed out to make the audience understand the cause behind some of their traits and actions. All Lorena wants in life is for Tracy to confront her parents and confess their relationship to them, even if that might make them angry. Does Tracy really love Lorena? Then why is she so afraid of telling the truth? Granted, it is a hard truth to reveal, but she’s an adult and that should cushion the blow a little bit if her parents’ reaction would be to disown her. A little background into her past or a little insight into her mind might have been more beneficial to the story.

 

What seems rather peculiar about the film is how quickly Lorena’s affair with Jose was glossed over. You would think that it would be a much more major talking point, but none of the protagonists seems that bothered about it after the first few minutes into their fight. Sure, the pregnancy is a much larger and sensitive problem, but it shouldn’t totally eclipse the cheating. However, that might be explained by the fact that the two women had an understanding or an open relationship, but it is never mentioned in the film.

 

'Fork In The Road' does not serve everything for its viewers on a platter. It gives them piece by piece and they have to assemble their own puzzle. However, when the image is completed the viewers might want to avoid actually looking at it. Only because the subject is such of such a sensitive nature that it might be too much for some of them. Otherwise, the film is rather beautiful and it could teach the audience something, if only they dared to listen.