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EMMA
Emma is a female led thriller film that will have you thinking about it for days afterwards.
The story follows the lead character Emma as she wakes up disorientated after being kidnapped. She tries to remember and figure out what has happened to her, through her PTSD. Her character arc was engaging and intriguing as you try with Emma to work out what happened to her and who kidnapped her. The end of the film is left ambiguous and open to interpretation, just as the film itself whist holding a narrative is firmly placed in the stylised Art Film bracket.
The lack of diagloue reinforces this, and the director specifically created the film to not make Emma speak. She is also the only character in the film who has a name. This creatively has symbolism intertwined in it. It says that Emma is voiceless as a victim of assault, she feels she can't speak up even if she wanted to. She breaks the fourth wall powerfully half of the way through the film, almost reaching out to the audience, asking the viewers for help, for protection. This provokes a powerful emotive response as we as an audience feel compelled to try and help and keep watching. This is partly a product of the excellent casting of Lydia Batchelor, who's flawless acting carries the film from being lifeless and emotionless. She engages the audience and asks them not to be passive, but to help her and girls like her to speak up and to give them their voices back by believing them.
Emma, I noticed, is also the only character with a name. Whilst critics could argue that this is purely due to the fact the film is so short, I believe it to be another clever social commentary of the director. Emma feels so alone because of what has happened to her that she feels she can't connect to anyone else, hence the fact that none of the other character have names.
The budget was extremely low, and you can tell the cast and crew have worked hard to stretch the budget that they did have to be effect as possible. the film however, does suffer for this, as I feel some more time and money could have easily been spent on it to make this film as good as it could be. The director, Mariella Devoil, is still relatively a newbie in the film industry but has defiantly made a splash with this, her 6th short film.
The setting of the film sufficed, even if it was a bit basic and stereotypical at times. Locations were believable and the set design was up to scratch. The audio is dramatic at times and the film uses uncomfortable silence effectively to make the audience feel uneasy. The rest of the sound design doesn't have much impact but is suitable, the sound effects and ambient music fit the scene and mood and help make the film to be believable.
The cinematography is really excellent, it looks elegantly and professionally effortless. The CCTV scene especially comes to mind, it is expertly edited to be very realistic and fits seamlessly into the film, and adda a level of gritty realism as both a beginning and ending scene, tie-in the film together nicely. The miss en scene has been carefully constructed frame by frame it seems. The kitchen scene (image above) intensifies the feeling of entrapment for Emma on her return to work. Although the pacing is fast and keeps the audience engaged throughout, the separate films feel a little disjointed with one another. The order of the scenes is confusing but the film got away with this by being stylised based, rather than the plot being the only thing holding the film together.
Emma far exceeded my expectations, as its from the newbie director Mariella Devoil, with its small budget and strange concept. I was pleasantly surprised that the film works in its own right and effectively engages the audience throughout. Overall, an excellent short film with an original storyline that really excels in its cinematography and stylisation of its aesthetic. With Emma I have no doubt that Mariella Devoil has earned her place firmly on the map of the country's most promising up and coming directors.
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