Empathy and Artistry in “The Silent Child”— A Review

“The Silent Child” is the 2018 Oscar-Winning short film about a deaf child living in a world of silence. Her family hires a young specialist to help their daughter get ready to attend English public school. The child (Libby) is found to be intelligent and capable, making great strides in her learning and communication with the help of her attentive tutor. However, along the way Libby’s inattentive mother becomes jealous of Libby’s relationship with her tutor and begins to feel she is being pulled away from her. She becomes blinded to the progress Libby is making and determines to cut the tutor out of her life entirely. In a heartbreaking end, she sends Libby to school with no help at all.

This engaging and inspiring film pleads with its audience to remember that “disability is diversity” and that there are many living among us who deserve our compassion and support. The film’s low-budget was visible at times, however I found that the director (Christ Overton)’s ingenious use of the tools he did have made his low-budget a strength rather than a weakness. The filmmakers used their limited resources to create a unique and impactful kind of artistry. They found unconventional ways to invoke the audience’s emotions which greater budget films often rely on their money to fuel.

One of the ways they invoked such a strong empathetic response in their audience was through their camera work. They were very intentional in their use of lines and angles in how they portray different characters and settings. After the opening scene, the camera comes in to show the family’s home at a diagonal. This unusual line creates immediate tension, communicating to the audience that all may not be what it seems in this family. Diagonal lines are used often throughout the film to create this same sense of unease. Another use of camera work is the choice to have Libby and her tutor often filmed from above looking down, and Libby’s mother from down looking up. This demonstrates the lack of support and tolerance, especially from Libby’s mother. Close up shots also play a major role in prompting sympathy from the audience, and also portraying lack of communication at times. One especially memorable close up shot is that of the tutor’s sleepless night. After hearing the truth about Libby (that she is her mother’s daughter of a different father), the tutor is completely unable to sleep—at this pivotal time the camera moves in close to her face and then switches to Libby’s face in a way that allows audience to almost tangibly feel their pain.

“The Silent Child” was a marvelous work of film—definitely deserving of the praise it has received. Its resourceful artistry was ingenious in prompting empathy from its audience and rallying allies to its cause.