Rob Munday
Making connections with others is widely recognised as essential to overall well-being. But what happens when mental health itself becomes a barrier to intimacy and connection? In Come Clean, the latest short film from Sal Bardo (Pink Moon), the audience is immersed in the interior life of a young man living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (O.C.D.) as he tentatively seeks connection through a Grindr date. The film poses a central tension: in moments of vulnerability, which force ultimately prevails – the compulsions imposed by his condition, or his deeply human desire for closeness?
The last time Short of the Week featured Bardo’s work – over a decade ago – the filmmaker transported audiences to a speculative parallel universe in which heterosexuality was persecuted and abortion was outlawed. While that earlier film was rooted in dystopian fiction, Come Clean is a more intimate and grounded film, focusing on the psychological landscape of its protagonist rather than a reimagined social order.
Ben Church (L) and James Hayden-Rodriguez star in Come Clean
Despite this tonal shift, thematic through-lines remain. Once again, Bardo demonstrates a clear commitment to crafting distinctly queer cinema that engages with issues extending beyond individual identity. Where Pink Moon interrogated LGBTQ equality and reproductive rights, Come Clean turns its attention to mental health, exploring how internal struggles shape our capacity for connection. In doing so, Bardo continues to affirm the power of short-form filmmaking as a space for nuanced, socially relevant storytelling.
Described by Bardo as “another somewhat personal story,” Come Clean marks the filmmaker’s return to short-form storytelling after a period focused on feature development and television writing. This re-entry into the short film landscape, however, does not signal a pause in his longer-form ambitions. His debut feature, Out of the Woods – a meditation on fading memory and long-buried emotions – is currently in post-production, suggesting that the transition to feature filmmaking is well underway.