Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you an episode from the 2022 series Roar,
titled The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
Once upon a time, there was a pretty little girl whose mother would sign her up for every
beauty pageant in town. Her mother would always say "if I had to choose between you being smart
and you being beautiful, I would choose beautiful every time", and those words stuck with the kid.
This little girl grew up to be the beautiful Amelia, a runaway supermodel with a bright
future ahead of her. She is very successful at her job, but she also finds it quite boring,
the hours are abusive, and she is constantly bothered by creepy photographers.
It is during one of her many fashions shows that Amelia meets Harry, a handsome millionaire. The
two of them begin a passionate relationship, and soon Amelia is moving into Harry's giant mansion.
She thinks her life is almost a fairy tale. One morning, Amelia is woken up by some strange noises
coming from Harry's office and goes to check what is going on, finding her boyfriend putting up a
giant shelf on the wall. This is rare for Harry because he usually prefers to hire a professional,
but today he claims to be inspired. The shelf is not for his books or trophies,
it is a gift for Amelia, who finds the present very sweet but does not think all her shoes
will fit in it. That is when Harry clarifies the shelf is literally for Amelia herself:
he wants her to sit there all day. She will have a perfect view of the pool and Harry's desk, so this
will allow him to gaze at her while he works - he thinks this will make him invincible and he will
launch a hundred businesses because by looking at her he could always remember what he has and
never lose sight of what is all about. Amelia does not like the idea very much and reminds
Harry she has to work, but he just responds she should quit since she hates her job anyway.
Harry thinks she is too extraordinaire to live an ordinary life and wants to make sure she will
never have to worry about anything ever again - he even promises to always worship her while she is
up there. He does not care about what people would say, he just keeps insisting that this would make
him the happiest man on Earth, so Amelia gives in and accepts to try. Harry helps her climb the
ladder so she can sit on the shelf, then gives her a pillow so she can be more comfortable.
Before taking the ladder away, he says this is a pretty nice view of a pretty nice life.
Then, Harry goes to make breakfast for both of them, and now that she is alone in the room,
Amelia begins trying to chase the awkwardness away and concentrate on comfort. Sometime later,
Harry and Amelia get married, but even during the party, Amelia spends her time sitting on
the shelf while wearing her wedding dress and watching everyone mingle and chat. When Harry
offers a little speech, he asks for a toast for Amelia, and she finds herself flattered by having
all those eyes on her. Later, after night falls and everyone has gone home, Harry brings back the
ladder and spends the wedding night on the shelf with his new wife. As days pass, Amelia tries to
keep herself busy in different ways, like reading magazines, doing her nails, and even exercising.
The hard breathing noises she makes while working out distract Harry from his business phone calls,
but he does not mind, in fact, he claims it is his business that distracts him from her. Harry also
brings her lavish presents almost every day, like gorgeous flowers, sparkly jewelry, and delicious
chocolates, wanting to celebrate even foreign holidays. Sadly, the initial excitement soon
begins fading off. Staying on top of the shelf is incredibly boring, and not even the maid will chat
with Amelia outside basic questions. This life robs her of independence, autonomy, and free will.
Harry starts paying less attention to her too, only stopping by to blow her a kiss before leaving
and not bringing her presents anymore. He does not even notice the beautiful dresses Amelia puts on
just for him, and now he is also annoyed by any noise she may make while he works, so he will
ignore her attempts to start a conversation and will not even allow her to hum a little
tune either. She has become nothing else than a decoration on the wall, a literal trophy wife.
One afternoon, Amelia brings out her most glamorous dress yet, wishing Harry would
at least glance at her. Instead, Harry notices that the natural light is not reaching his desk,
so he asks his employees to help him turn it around. Now Amelia is stuck watching the back
of her husband's neck, and she can not stop the tears from falling anymore. Three years later,
Amelia is still sitting on the shelf. She hears Harry coming back from work,
but he does not come to see her - he has grown distant and bored of her. Amelia calls his name
and even begins screaming, but this still does not get her husband's attention. This is the
last straw that finally breaks Amelia, making her decide it is time to get off the shelf at last.
This is harder than it looks: the distance to the floor is not very high, but after so many
years stuck up there, Amelia's perspective is quite wrapped. As a test, she practices telling
her show that she wants to break up then throws it out, but seeing it fall only makes her fear worse.
However, she is determined to leave, so she practices with the second shoes and accepts
she has to take a leap of faith. Amelia slowly begins to make her way down until she can not
hold on to the shelf anymore and falls to the floor. From Amelia's perspective, it is a long,
scary fall, but she actually makes it to the floor quickly and unharmed except for some soreness.
It is hard to walk after years of not doing so with legs that have become atrophied,
so Amelia uses furniture to help her stand up before slowly and awkwardly walking outside,
ready for an eye-opening experience full of self-discovery. Feeling the breeze on her
face again delights Amelia, and soon she begins exploring like a baby seeing the world for the
first time. While whirling around in happiness, Amelia touches the pool water, throws out a bunch
of tennis balls, and dances through the house's corridors before putting on her shoes to go to
the street and climb inside the mail truck, which takes her downtown. When she reaches the city,
her eccentric behavior continues as she gains confidence in her walking to move quickly and
finally fells like she is part of society again. Amelia hugs the truck, says hi to strangers,
dances on top of a table, and even asks a man for a ride on his Vespa. The trip is lots of fun,
and once they reach the coast area, Amelia gets off to keep on exploring. Once again,
she dances with a stranger, but she also tears off a man's parking fine, joins a yoga group,
runs after a dog, and eventually makes her way to the beach, where a flash mob joins her in her
dancing. Then, she runs into the sea, and being hit by a cold wave is exactly what she needs
to be brought back to reality. Afterward, Amelia tries to chat with some strangers,
but they are not interested in her happiness and refuse to lend her a towel when she asks.
Feeling cold and lonely, Amelia decides to wander around town again until she comes across a make-up
store, noticing some women getting makeovers and the state of her own face on the reflection in
the window - her mascara has run and her concealer has all washed away. Wanting to feel pretty again,
Amelia enters the store and uses the free samples to clean up her face, instantly feeling better
when she does not look disheveled anymore. One of the clerks, Jordan, is impressed by
Amelia's make-up skills because she works here and yet it took her a while to get that good.
Jordan wonders if Amelia is a make-up artist, so Amelia quickly corrects her and explains her
job is to sit like a trophy for a millionaire. Surprisingly, Jordan does not judge her for it,
because her mother taught her that what matters is to be happy. Amelia replies by sharing her own
mother's "beauty over brains" philosophy, and Jordan tells her she does not have to choose:
she can have both. This means a lot to Amelia to hear, because she never thought of it that way.
Before Amelia leaves, Jordan tries to sell her something because she works on a commission,
but Amelia has no choice but to turn down the offer since she does not have any money on her.
Moments later, Amelia goes back home and stares at the shelf for a while.
After some hesitation, she grabs a fire poker and begins hitting the shelf to destroy it.
It is slow at first because destroying such big things is always scary, but soon it begins feeling
extremely satisfying, so Amelia begins smashing more quickly until there is almost no shelf left.
One year later, Amelia opens her own make-up store with her name as the brand.
It is a big success, and there are always long lines outside waiting for their turn.
But even at the store, Amelia repeats old patterns: she sits on a shelf with a neon-lit
sign above her that reads "let everyone look", intending to be a sample of how she is both very
beautiful and smart enough to handle her own business. However, when clients come by to say
hi to her and call her pretty, they do not stay to hear how she is more than that. Amelia continues
to be another cog in the beauty wheel designed to belittle women, nothing else than a living trophy.