echo

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The short film, Echo (2011) was written by James Walker after witnessing a real incident in central London. Direction from Lewis Arnold, it is an emotive short film that explores the lasting affect a father's death has on his young family. 

There is no clear structure which is an alternative approach to film making that we have explored in previous set short films. The twist the audience are anticipating happens at the beginning of the film so makes the viewer unsure how the following events relate to each other. 

The themes portrayed in this film is exploitation, rebellion, sadness and mystery. With this, a unsatisfactory, open ending has occurred. The audience can assume that the dad has died but the full truth isn't given. We are left with questions that go unanswered, but the event that replays could be the explanation for why she is acting like this as a reference to the initial feelings she experienced when her dad first died. 

At the beginning of the film we are introduced to Caroline receiving an upsetting phone-call in the middle of a busy town centre. This quickly engulfs the audience in a dramatic narrative as we witness a young girl begin to break down before our eyes. In this sequence of Echo we feel empathetic towards her, but there is an underlying mystery to what could occur next. This performance was convincing and was able to manipulate members of the public surrounding her. However, as the film progresses, the audience realises that the young girl is calculated in her performance 

The arrangement of the beginning, middle and end is compelling. The basis of raw material and events allows the narrative to be employed to shift our perspective and derive meaning from this short film. Following this, the name 'Echo' refers to the same sequence happing over and over again, echoing itself. We get the sense that she is suffering great trauma and reliving it by scamming people. 



 

 

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