Echo by Lewis Arnold

Echo is a short film directed by Lewis Arnold and written by James Walker. The story follows a girl called Caroline who relives the call in which she found her dad has died in an accident in public as an unorthodox grieving or self harming method. The structure of the film revolves around 3 phone calls with her the protagonists family featuring in scenes in between to help flesh out her character and to illustrate how different all of their grieving methods are and they serve. Throughout the film, the main characters loneliness is depicted when there are shots shots showing her by herself watching other people go about their day or when she is sat on a bench in the dark whilst her family are inside. There is even a reflection of a man that is supposed to represent her dad which illustrates the impact his death has left on him. The performance of Lauren Carse is good in this short film, she portrays real emotion that is convincing to the audience, so much so that during filming genuine members of the public went over to her to ask if she needed help. It is the performance Lauren Carse that is the stand out feature in Echo because moments where she shines most like the ending feature such a strong performance that images of her tear stained face are etched into the audiences minds. In addition, I believe that the abundance of close ups on Carse’s face are used well by Lewis Arnold as they capture the emotion of sequences such as the ending and beginning, in my opinion they are crucial in telling the story of a heavily damaged girl.