In Uncle, Adam Elliott’s first short film, an unknown narrator reminisces about his strange uncle and the rumblings from his colostomy bag. Loosely based on a compilation of Elliott’s experiences with eight of his uncles, the short film has a brief depiction of a lonely, aging eccentric who has a breakdown while grieving, and the ensuing realities of the mental health care system.
The anonymous narrator says “He was never the same after that, and it wasn’t long before they took him away. When my cousin had found him rolling on the floor, both legs in one pajama trouser, they moved him to the Ashburn Gentleman’s Hospice.” The narrator brings him a flask of whiskey to hide under his pillow, and finds him attaching his false teeth to his pajamas with a piece of string to keep the other patients from stealing them.