I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) review – lyrical study of pandemic LA homelessness

Drama about a mother and daughter’s struggle to stay afloat in the pandemic holds on to a warm optimism

This pandemic-set drama exudes frustration and exasperation, but always remains in touch with an essential openness and optimism. It’s anchored in a smart performance from co-director Kalley Kali who, as bereaved gig-economy hustler Danny, seems in a permanent state of sadness and mild distraction – though possibly the latter is something to do with the fact she performs most of the time on rollerblades.

Danny is living in a tent in the scrub somewhere on the edge of Los Angeles (presumably Pacoima, where this was filmed) with her eight-year-old daughter, Wes (Wesley Moss). She tells her kid that it’s just for fun, trying to shield her from the harsh truth: they’ve become homeless following the death of her partner and Wes’s father. After dropping Wes off at daycare, Danny straps on her leopard-print blades and, moonlighting between hair-braiding and food delivery, attempts to squeeze out the $200 she needs before day’s end to make a deposit on a flat.