Silence: Written Review

Silence

Written Review

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Today I’ll be reviewing 2018’s drama-thriller feature film Silence, directed by MyIndie featured artist, U.S. indie filmmaker Todd Braley.

Thank you, Todd  for sharing your film with us.

Our story begins in a light-spirited atmosphere, revolving around Katelyn, a young twenty-something woman portrayed by Elisabeth Larson and her circle of loving friends and family.

Katelyn is at the prime of her life. She has a full-time job, providing customer service at a financial firm. She has three very close girlfriends who work with her, Jenna, Tosha and Liz, played by Brii Frank, Emily Dodson and Maddy Mora and a loving father, Danny, played by John Breiner.

We understand fairly quickly that Katelyn‘s mother has long since passed away, and that her father is still working through his grief and has not yet moved on. Despite her and her father’s loss, Katelyn is introduced as a cheerful girl, full of life and positive energy.

She is teased among her friends as the most conservative one, refraining from sex before marriage as an ideology. Somewhat of an antithesis of her best friend Jenna, who goes out with different guys and parties on a regular basis.

Life seems to be going great and Katelyn is even beginning to form a romantic relationship with Tony, a sweet and kind-hearted young man from her workplace, played by Ethan Blashford.

Suddenly, the tone violently shifts, when Katelyn is brutally raped and severely beaten in her own home by an unknown perpetrator. From that moment on, she and her loved ones are plunged into an abyss that marks the beginning of a long and grueling journey to overcome the mental issues that stem from such extreme trauma.

It is clear that Todd focused almost entirely on the trauma, rather than the injustice element. The attack unhinges young Katelyn’s mental stability. He lets us, the viewers, feel its impact by initially investing a substantial portion of the story, on the exposition. He wants us to see how great and innocent things are in her life.

The exposition has us relating to the characters and invested in their lives and especially, Katelyn’s life, so to allow us engage with her character on a deeper level when the tone shifts. After it shifts, Braley has us experience the ripple effect on not only Katelyn herself, but on her friends and family as well.

The attack hits like a hand-grenade and throws everyone off keel. They all try to find a way to re-connect with Katelyn in her delicate state, but are left helpless as it seems that the Katelyn they all know and love is no more. Instead they, and we, experience an unstable Katelyn, burdened with stress, anger and trust issues.

To me it feels that the purpose of the film was mainly to educate us on the severity of its subject matter. Todd built two worlds, one from either side of the pivotal event, to further amplify the sense of loss, in this case the loss of innocence.

The design felt to help us get a glimpse of just how deep and wide rape affects its victims and their loved ones and how long and hard the recovery process is.

From a filmmaking perspective, the story felt very literal, with little room for subtext or additional layers to the story. The scene structure and dialogue were fairly straight and to the point.

Characters say exactly what they mean and almost all of the information is conveyed through dialogue. It is as if the film was solely made to serve the subject matter using a cautionary tale for educative purposes.

Braley demonstrated very impressive production capabilities for an indie film, with multiple characters and locations. He created relatable character arcs for most characters and even though the level of the story’s refinement can be argued upon, Todd succeeded in engaging his viewers with the subject matter.

Strangely for such a serious subject matter, the thing this film really has going for it, is charm. Its wholesome and in some ways naive, nature, is endearing. I did feel that the film could have done with a serious trim from its 105 minutes running time.

Having said that, most production shortcomings are forgivable as by the end of the film I was drawn into the story and have come to care about its characters. That alone, is no mean feat.

Silence gets a 7/10 on the Look At Me I’m a Film Critic scale!
The film is available for purchase on Reelhouse Distribution. Link at top of page.

Until next time, keep supporting indie film. Watch, share, spread the word. My name is Asaf Angel, I thank you for tuning into MyIndie Review Vlog. I’ll see you next Thursday!