London Breeze Film Festival 2025: Anxious

Writer and Director: Nida Chowdhry

Anxious is something of a passion project for Nida Chowdhry. Not only does she write, direct and play three roles she also serves as the costume designer for the film. This last point is significant as the fashionable clothing of the characters and the vibrant background colours are strong ingredients in the telling of the story.

Ruby (Nida Chowdhry) is prone to debilitating attacks of anxiety, permanently feeling like she is responding to a fire alarm or struggling to reach a lifebelt. She works in a convenience store managed by her father but does not cash her paycheques as she worries about the store’s declining profits. She feels unable to pursue a relationship with cute guy Omar (Sammy Cantu) or fulfil her duties as maid of honour at her cousin’s forthcoming wedding. Even trivial social gaffes, like taking the last piece of bread at dinner, push Ruby into anxiety.

Although Ruby is willing to accept counselling financial considerations limit her options. The withdrawal of funding from a free clinic prompts Ruby to try a DIY approach, steal the sign-in sheet of clients and invite them for an impromptu therapy session in the local park.

Apart from the anxiety attacks none of the above may be true. After about an hour the film rewinds to the beginning and starts over suggesting some, if not all, of Ruby’s misadventures are in her confused imagination, or she is obsessing over past mistakes, while she is actually stuck in bed struggling with an internal mental debate with two alternative, and hyper-critical, versions of her personality.  Rubina is a high fashion success story who considers vulnerability to be the polyester of emotions while Rye is the classic mean girl sarcastically mocking Ruby’s concerns.

The introduction of the alternative personalities is an inspired idea as a depressed character like Ruby, and her relentless self-criticism, can become wearyingly close to self-pity. The more jaundiced even acid viewpoints expressed by Rubina and Rye makes Anxious livelier and engaging.

Much of the impact of the story comes from the setting. Ruby’s initial descent into confusion is preceded by the film colour and camera angles becoming erratic. Ruby dresses down wearing dowdy clothing, camouflage jackets and combat boots, as if trying to blend in with her surroundings. Ruby’s imagination, however, is colour saturated to the point of appearing like a Bollywood movie. At one point Ruby pauses near a row of snack machines and even they are colour-coded.

Ruby’s alternative selves bully her into dressing in more flamboyant clothing but even then she defensively becomes part of the background. A garish green chequerboard dress makes Ruby seem part of the lush parkland though which she travels.  It is easy to guess a sudden switch to a stark white environment, in the midst of so many rich colours, signifies a place of emotional significance to Ruby.

Anxious is full of ideas but has a slender plot. This may be intentional; demonstrating the root of Ruby’s problems is subjective, of massive importance to her but less significant when regarded from an objective perspective. Once Ruby is able to confront the origin of her anxiety and put aside the over-critical advice from Rubina and Rye she can identify the incremental steps towards tackling her problems. In a neat touch self-preservation ensures Rubina and Rye rapidly evolve into more approving, friendly critics.

The imaginative and colourful staging of Anxious ensures a complex theme is explored in an unusual manner which retains attention and sympathy.

Anxious is screening at the London Breeze Film Festival 2025.