Review: Princess Cyd

Jessie Pinnick in Princess Cyd

 Princess Cyd is a lovely film full of heart and kindness. It’s about the two week visit of a teenager named Cyd (Jessie Pinnick) to her semi-famous aunt who lives in Chicago.

Rebecca Spence plays Miranda Ruth, an essayist and novelist. Her niece Cyd needs a break from her depressed dad in South Carolina and he sends her to Miranda in Chicago for a couple of weeks.

Cyd’s backstory is that her mother died when she was 8. We hear the 9-1-1 call about her death at the beginning of the film, but we don’t learn the full story until the film is almost over.

Miranda Ruth is a prolific writer. She writes novels about strong women and about spirit. We see her doing interviews where she is frequently asked questions about religion and spirituality as well as about herself as a writer. I avoid films that carry a religious agenda, but this film isn’t like that. It isn’t preaching.

Cyd is a soccer player. She doesn’t read. She doesn’t go to church. She has a sort-of boyfriend in South Carolina, but develops an interest in Katie (Malic White) her first day in Chicago.

Rebecca Spence and Jessie Pinnick in Princess Cyd

Cyd and her aunt seem mismatched at first. Actually, they are good for each other. They challenge each other’s world views. They develop a strong bond of love in their time together. Rebecca Spence and Jessie Pinnick work beautifully together. They imbue their silences with as much meaning as their words.

Cyd is physical, outward. She runs and plays soccer. Cyd wants to explore her sexuality. Miranda is inward. She’s about beautiful words and deep thoughts. Miranda wants to read Emerson. They bring each other permission to explore other ways of being.

Miranda has a friend Anthony (James Vincent Meredith) that she might have a romantic interest in. Cyd tells her aunt’s friends she’s attracted to everything. Cyd tries making out with Miranda’s neighbor Ridley (Matthew Quattrocki) but it doesn’t go very far. When she has a chance to be with Katie there are fireworks.

Katie finds a young adult book on the bookshelf in Cyd’s room – her mother’s childhood bedroom – called Princess Cyd. It was written by her aunt. Katie remembers reading it in middle school. Cyd remembers her mother reading it to her, but didn’t realize that it was written by her aunt.

At the end of two weeks, it’s as if Cyd and her aunt have spent a lifetime together. They gain so much from each other.

Princess Cyd is available on Amazon Video, Netflix and several other sources. It’s full of so much warmth and character, it’s definitely worth seeing.

P.S. I want to go to a soirée where an old woman can read Emily Dickinson aloud and be listened to with interest.


Discover more from Old Ain't Dead

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

7 thoughts on “Review: Princess Cyd”

  1. This movie starred my cousin’s daughter. I worked in Hollywood for my career as a location manager and an assistant director and I’ve never seen a low budget movie that hits it out of the ballpark so effortlessly. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my family who starred in it. This is one of a kind.

    1. D. Cullington

      Totally agree with you Robert. Good writing, acting, and directing are so obvious from the start of this movie. Jesse Pinnick (Cyd), and Rebecca Spence (Miranda), have wonderful, warm, chemistry. I watch a lot of big budget movies, but I really try to watch the low budget/indie films too. I’m curious to see if the director/writer, Stephen Cone has done any other films in the past or the future. This little gem touched on subjects of love, loss, grief, depression, mental illness, sexuality, religion, the love of the arts, curiosity, choice, family, and community without being preachy or judgmental. I think my favorite part was the after party kitchen clean-up scene when Miranda was telling Cyd to basically “back off” of the gotta have sex idea to make you happy. I think Miranda was trying to tell Cyd that as you grow older, (hopefully wiser), that balance is so important in one’s life. While Cyd’s curiosity and compulsion with her sexual identity was all consuming at this point in her life, it may not be 25-30 years down the road. You just knew that when Cyd told Miranda that, “Maybe if you had sex once in a while, you wouldn’t be eating all the time”, Cyd was in for a parental speech about life. Miranda gave a beautiful bit of advice to Cyd, in fact, one of the best acted scenes I’ve seen any of the “top” actresses in Hollywood do! Rebecca Spence as Miranda, would be nominated for best actress in any big budget movie! Great film, and a must see.

  2. Yes, I’ve just watched it – another little masterpiece from the American indie scene, the gift that never stops giving. I particularly appreciated the serious attention given to the aunt’s career – I loved her potluck night with the readings. Everything about the relationships rings true, which is testament to a great script and some very cool acting.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
WordPress Cookie Notice by Real Cookie Banner