Baby Blues is a film about how a troubled woman deals with a tragic mistake in her life and rediscovers hope.

You could say hope is the running thread through this indie production, since Baby Blues is a school thesis project that was spun into a feature film largely because of the aspirations of two Red Deer College students.

Dylan Pearce and Andrew Scholotiuk shopped the script for Baby Blues on the Internet and hooked actress Jenny Levine of the TV series 24, who signed on to play the lead.

As a result, the film was professionally shot with a union crew in Pearce’s hometown of Windsor, Ont., in 2006. And instead of airing in a college classroom, Baby Blues will now open to the public on Friday at the new Galaxy Theatre in Gasoline Alley.

It’s clear from the start that Baby Blues is well beyond a student effort, based on the calibre of acting and production design alone.

One upside of having a talented cast and empathetic direction by Pearce is that viewers can be distracted momentarily from significant flaws in the story-line.

Baby Blues starts off with the main character Josie, subtly played by Levine, trying to restart her life with the help of a therapist, played by local actor and the film’s producer, Darren Arsenault.

We learn from brief flashbacks that Josie once had children.

What happened to them is the mystery that drives the film’s plot and is gradually revealed through visual clues cleverly dropped by Pearce.

Levine delivers a sensitive performance that brings the audience on side with her as the mystery unravels.

Unfortunately, Josie’s role in the tragedy turns out to be far less dramatic than the build-up and her legal problems would suggest.

This creates an anti-climax that seems unnecessary since the audience is ready to forgive Josie for more complex crimes than are revealed.

Among Baby Blues’ positives are its insightful direction and sharp editing, including luminous shots of the Windsor skyline.

The film has a strong supporting cast that includes Brantford actor Sean O’Neill as a homeless songwriter fleeing his own demons, and Melanie Scrofano, of Toronto, as a waitress who befriends Josie.

These are the first major film roles for both actors — O’Neill’s television credits include an appearance on Queer as Folks, and Scrofano previously had a recurring role on the Comedy Network series Jeff Ltd.

Canadian hip-hop singer Michie Mee also makes an appearance as a character whose role becomes clear later in the film.

Baby Blues can be viewed on two levels — as the story of a woman who learns to live again, or as what can happen when two film students follow their dreams.

Contact Lana Michelin at lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com