A tarot card reader gives romantic advice in “The Broken Heart Spread”

Towards the end of the new Theater Company short The spread of the broken hearta woman named Serena (Lauren Modica) asks a tarot card reader named Delphine (DeLanna Studi) for advice on dating apps.

“Do I have to reply to all messages? She wonders. “Because it’s starting to feel like a full-time job.”

In Serena’s voice, you hear the panic of someone adrift in a sea of ​​possibility, but Delphine meets her despair with hypnotic calm. Her clients face all sorts of agonies – from a crisis of faith to the anguish of a gaping age difference in a relationship – but she almost always projects the calming confidence of a woman who has placed her faith into a higher power.

The spread of the broken heart— written by Claire Willett, directed by Brandon Woolley, and filmed at Portland’s northeast metaphysical boutique Psychic Sister — wants to share Delphine’s faith with audiences. Watching the movie won’t teach you what the 78 cards in a tarot deck mean, but it will teach you that these cards have the power to enlighten and instruct.

Delphine is introduced to us in a dreamy prologue in which she declares, “Magic is fucking work. That may be true, but in the film, the hardest work is Delphine’s struggle to put her clients’ emotional needs above her own. Her story invites you to ponder not only the meaning of tarot cards, but also the mentors – be they parents, teachers, doctors or friends – who can play an equally selfless role in your life.

The spread of the broken heart follows Delphine through a hectic day of virtual sessions with people like Sister Joan (Josie Seid), a nun tormented by her love for a woman. While we hear the voices of the characters asking Delphine for advice, they rarely speak and we never see their faces. That’s no problem for Studi, who has perfected the art of speaking in a conversational manner that sometimes makes you forget that Delphine is the only person in the room.

Studi’s aura of assurance conveys Delphine’s conviction that her words are backed by something more than human authority and her undeniable intelligence. When she pulls out trinkets of wisdom like “It’s okay to want your needs met” and “Fear is okay,” you’re struck not only by the value of her words, but also by her ability. to ring true.

Some of the best scenes from The spread of the broken heart feature moments that pierce Delphine’s serenity, like her unusually frank exchange with her cousin CJ (Lindsey Bruno) about what looks like a toxic relationship.

“Your insistence that the universe has brought you together borders on illusion, and you seem unable to distinguish between divine intervention and white privilege!” Delphine exclaims.

When Delphine talks to CJ, she sounds like a worried, exasperated cousin, not a guide at peace with the world and with herself. It’s enough to make you wonder who she is without her ethereal attitude and how much her personality blurs the line between sincere belief and calculation.

This question is important because The spread of the broken heart comes uncomfortably close to an advertisement for tarot cards. While there’s nothing problematic about the film’s assertion that tarot can be a positive force in a person’s life, there’s something troubling about its vague and unconditional portrayal of the profession. by Delphine.

Delphine never fully defends the importance of the tarot because no one in The spread of the broken heart challenge him. All of his clients seem to be believers, which makes the film cloistered and undramatic at times. Delphine’s routine is still interesting, but it leaves no room for the kind of arguments that would have allowed the film to engage — even convert — more skeptical viewers.

Although it sometimes looks like fan service, The spread of the broken heart is a compelling character study and intriguing debut for The Theater Company’s new six-film series, The Playwright Initiative: Solo Works. Last month, it seemed ironic that the company was showing a film during a resurgence of in-person performances, but given the death of the Delta variant, audiences should be grateful that the intimate and inventive virtual theater continues.

SEE : The spread of the broken heart streams on Stellar until August 22. Purchase access at thetheatreco.org/the-broken-heart-spread. $20. $100 for the six-movie series.