Dean

Set in modern times, the characters navigate dating apps, texts, and casual travel across cities. The plot blends current urban pressures with personal grief and relationship dynamics. A recurring motif contrasts a “twentieth-century” note with fast digital communication, highlighting tangible gestures in a digital age.

The story centers in Brooklyn, New York, where Dean lives and grapples with his mother’s death in a dense urban setting. It travels to Los Angeles for an advertising pitch and later touches New York City’s social and domestic scenes, before a potential trip to San Francisco that frames a budding romance. The city backdrop emphasizes the contrast between isolation and connection in a modern, bustling metropolis.

🕊️ Grief

Dean's mother's death casts a long shadow over his life and his relationship with his father. The film follows their fragile attempt to cope with loss, aging, and responsibility. Grief becomes a catalyst for honest conversations and gradual healing, rather than a trap of withdrawal. The theme shows that openness to others can start the healing process.

💞 Romance

Dean pursues a connection with Nicky, whose own complications with separation add tension to their budding romance. The encounters at the beach, dinner, and gallery visits reveal the fragility and hope of new love. The film explores how vulnerability, timing, and honesty shape intimate relationships. It suggests that romance can help both partners confront past wounds.

🌆 Urban Life

The urban landscape—Brooklyn’s creative milieu, the LA advertising world, and a New York City apartment—frames the characters’ emotional journeys. City life amplifies feelings of loneliness, distraction, and possibility, requiring effort to maintain connection. The setting underscores how modern relationships survive amid noise, schedules, and distance. The film uses the city as a character that challenges and nurtures relationships.