It has been awhile since Little Jar crossed my desk. Having recently decided to chase down the impossible task of revisiting some films missed along the way through my father's hospice journey and subsequent death, I found myself intrigued by this pandemic-influenced indie film recently released by Good Deed Entertainment. The film stars co-writer Kelsey Gunn as Ainsley, a misanthrope whose isolative ways are amplified when forced isolation makes her realize just how me she misses, and maybe even needs, connection. 

Then, she meets Ulysses. 

Ulysses is a mouse. A dead mouse. In a jar. 

What happens when you weave together a quirky tapestry of loneliness, imagination, and a mouse-sized tuxedo? You take baby steps toward learning what the world of friendship is all about. 

While it's not often true in the indie world, I'm not sure I can imagine anyone else playing Ainsley than the marvelous Kelsey Gunn. Gunn's Ainsley is quirky without being a caricature, funny without being a joke, and so completely endearing here that by film's end I was rushing to IMDB to check out her filmography. 

Little Jar had a successful festival journey, including a Grand Jury Prize at Paris International Film Festival in 2023, before landing at Good Deed for what deserves to be a successful streaming run. This microbudgeted effort accomplishes a lot with very little including a small crew quarantined creative collaborators who've managed to tell an engaging story in a way that's darkly comical yet pointed in its dialogue about grief, isolation, and human connection. 

While there's no denying that Gunn is the humor and the heartbeat of Little Jar, the film's brief but vital supporting players matter including Nicholas Anthony Reid as Marvin, Jon Snow as Ainsley's brother Emre, and Doug Hurley's Gary among others. 

Director Dominic Lopez also lenses the film and somehow manages to keep it entertaining while never losing sight of the uncomfortable nature of the film. James Wakefield's original music nicely complements the storytelling by Lopez and Gunn along with songs by BEEBE. 

Little Jar is a little gem of a film that dives into the very real world of absolute isolation and rises to the surface with a humorous and heartfelt story both intimate and universal and not quickly forgotten. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic