"The Silent Child" Deserves Loud Acclaim

"The Silent Child" (2017) is a powerful short film written by Rachel Shenton which was featured in the Academy Awards. The movie depicts the life of a four year old deaf child named Libby. This child has been brought up in a "normal" household with a family who does not understand her world and disabilities. Even though the family is a bit ignorant, they hire a tutor to help Libby learn to communicate with those around her. The film beautifully and artfully crafts a narrative in which audiences' hearts are captivated. The film shows two contrasting worlds, one of sound and one of silence. These worlds are placed side by side, and the intense difference is shown through the use of cinematic elements including setting and lighting.

Setting is a large contributor to the dual tones of the film.The hearing world is depicted as closed-off, busy, and confusing. The vast majority of vocal speaking takes place inside of the house or in a cramped car. The room is cluttered with objects, people, voices, and sounds, giving the audience the feeling of being trapped inside of a box with no escape. It is stifling. However, when Libby meets with the tutor, they are often seen learning outside, out in the open sunlight. Physical barriers (such as walls) are destroyed by using wide camera angles and natural sunlight. This fosters a tone of growth, innocence, and openness as the child is not only taught sign language, but is able to finally connect with others. 

There is one particular scene when the two worlds are shown side by side. The scene shows the tutor and Libby laughing out in a bright yard through the windows of the house. Inside of the home is nearly pitch black, and the silhouette of the mother is outlined in the glass. She stands by and watches, alone in the darkness, as her daughter progresses without her. This is a beautiful metaphor in which we see how the mother has isolated herself from her daughter's world, offering a view into her own thoughts.

It was amazing to me how much could be said by saying so little. The producer's decisions to play with lighting and setting told a large part of the narrative. The audience had to pay attention to the visuals, rather than gather all their information from speech. Overall, it was a very soulful and endearing piece fighting to help deaf children.