Silent Things is a short film that follows three main characters. Jake, Amy and Charlotte. Both Jake and Charlotte have Asperger’s Syndrome, a mental disorder on the Autistic spectrum. Asperger’s Syndrome is characterised by difficulty in social activities and other interactions and patterns of thoughts, interests and physical behaviours. Often times when these patterns are broken, the sufferer will become agitated or upset. However, Autism falls upon a spectrum meaning that no two people with Autism are exactly the same. One may appear socially ‘normal’ to outside observers, while another may physically and emotionally shut down in social activities. Amy is, as told by the video description and the short film itself, a 15 year old girl that has run away from a bad home.
The audience is looking at the unfolding events through Jake’s perspective. I know this because nearly every scene has Jake in it. The first Establishing Shot has him in it. This leads me to believe he is the main Protagonist. Furthermore, a scene towards the end of the film uses auditory and visual cues to show his current mental state. But more on that later. The first scene introduces Jake and Charlotte flying Jake’s kite. We can assume from these first few shots that something is not right with Jake and Charlotte, specifically Charlotte. If this were a Romance film, this may be a day out for the two of them. If they were in a relationship, they would be close together, laughing, talking, doing couple stuff. Instead they are standing a good meter away from each other, not talking, not smiling just watching the kite fly. This can already be very odd to some, but what would tell to many that Charlotte has a mental disorder is her hands. She is fidgeting with her hair and hands, contorting her arms and hands in a way that seems rather uncomfortable if done for long periods of time. Other than her arms however, her body language seems rather relaxed, just passively enjoying a kite flying. When putting the kite away, both Jake and Charlotte’s movements appear very slow and methodical. Not exactly a point towards mental disability, but it is not too much of a stretch with what the audience may already be suspecting.
The biggest indicator that they have a mental disorder is when Jake goes out and says it. He’s is back on the beach on a sunnier day than the last, still flying his kite, however, this time Charlotte is not with him. Amy comes up to him and they become acquainted. Some hecklers shout across the beach, likely attempting to gather a reaction from the two of them. Amy tells ‘a white lie’ in response to have them leave.
J - “What’s a White Lie?”
A - “It’s like, a small lie that you tell to get out of a bad situation.”
J - “I don’t tell lies, I can’t.”
A - “You’re strange.”
J - “I have Asperger Syndrome.”
Strange, at least I feel, is one of the more common stereotypes associated with mental disorders, especially with Asperger’s Syndrome or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). As I have previously mentioned, sufferers will often times have difficulties in social activities. This could be manifested in a myriad of ways, but many would classify this behaviour as strange, abnormal, weird. After hearing of his condition, Amy stays silent, unsure how to respond. It is Jake who breaks the silence by asking a follow up question. This could show that he has been in this kind of situation before, where someone feels sympathy for Jake or guilty if they said something insensitive without realising. This would make sense as he seems to be in his 30s, he should have experience with both his condition and people or at least enough to pass off as ‘normal’ in the eyes of observers.
As for Charlotte, she doesn’t say she a mental condition like Jake but her reaction to finding Amy packing the kite away with Jake heavily disturbs her. As I mentioned previously, people with ASD will forms patterns and behaviours. For Charlotte, this would be flying the kite and packing it away with Jake. Amy breaks this and she becomes visibly upset, both in the way she acts and talks. Her shoulders are very square showing she is not relaxed. Her shoulders were this square before, but her arms were up by her neck then, this time they are down on her stomach. Furthermore more as she walks, above her waist is near enough a statue, barely moving as she approaches Jake. Her facial expression tells us Charlotte is very upset. When she says “Why won’t you listen to me” and grits her teeth it both shows how unhappy and borderline angry she is. Additionally, it shows her possibly more childlike state of mind in how and what she said. Slow, with a need for attention and distrust of change. Charlotte is being shown to be jealous while Jake ignores her and carries on with the kite. Jake still has the kite, his pattern and therefore has no reason to be upset. What would make Jake upset, and it seems it is, is this confrontation with Charlotte. Both Jake and Charlotte still problems socially, that does not simply mean being shy at a party. This argument would not be easy for either of them.
Despite everything however, Jake and Amy are hitting it off. They get to know each other a bit better. This doesn’t seem to phase Jake at all, as he converse about ferries and Amy. However he does not stay exactly on topic. Amy talks of going to France on a ferry, Jake replies by describing a ferry’s method of propulsion. This would be directly representing Jake’s difficulties in social activities, but like I have said before, he appears to be in 30s. Jake has may have learnt a few tricks to pass off as normal, or at least enough so as not to be abnormal. Abnormal is defined as ‘Deviating from what is normal… typically in a way that is undesirable’. While in the case of ASD patients this may not necessarily be in their control, I doubt it would very difficult to find one who has been assaulted or harassed (physically and/or verbally) at a social event or activity due to highly insensitive people. But things are going well with Jake and Amy. They’re talking, laughing, and Amy invited Jake to come the ferry to France with her.
It’s on the ferry that things become a bit more troublesome. Jake becomes distressed, and the the Diegetic sounds of the film become muffled and overpowered by a constant ringing. At the same time, Jake becomes more distressed from seemingly trying to work through sea sickness to slouched over, shoving away any physical contact. Something is clearly wrong with Jake as he appears to be in pain. This is may yet again go back to the patterns of behaviours and breaking them. As Amy tries to console Jake in his panic attack, they catch the eyes of the ferry staff who carry them both inside to “calm” Jake down. The staff incorrectly assume Jake is Amy’s father and asks about their relationships to which she replies, “Just some guy. I met today on the beach and he wanted me to get on the ferry with him”. A white lie to get Amy out of this bad situation. This understandably gets the staff rather worried. Amy can be seen looking sorry for throwing Jake under the bus but perhaps it was only thing she could have said that could have worked in her favour. In Jake’s current state, any passerby would think of him as mentally ill, it makes her suggestive story more believable with a higher chance of success.
The police were called to intervene but this is far later in the story. Jake is back on land, the sun is setting but the panic attack is still ongoing. Charlotte is waiting on a bench, nearby the police officers, presumably waiting for Jake. She is mumbling to herself seemingly the same word, perhaps it is “please” as she hopes for Jake’s return. This is again showing her childlike mentality who are the only people I have seen do this. As Jake comes in, he seems a bit better than before however he is now crying as the policeman talks to him. This same policeman is the one who hits Jake, perhaps because of not cooperating the way he wants or for the accusation placed on him by Amy. This shows how some people may think that mental disorders put others below them, so much so to physically beat them down emotionally. Eventually Jake does begin to talk to the officer, but the ringing panic attack is still ongoing. This may now be Charlotte’s as she looks on from behind a policewoman, fidgeting with her ear and hair again. But Jake is allowed to leave and looks back at Charlotte with sadness and disdain for being right about Amy. This shows that while ASD patients may have trouble with their emotions, they are not comatose. They still feel everything thrown at them and react accordingly. Jake was betrayed and is angry about it. He has been let down and has let down his friend for nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment