ECHO - 2011 - LEWIS ARNOLD

 ECHO (2011), directed by Lewis Arnold

Echo, directed by Lewis Arnold in 2011 is a short film which follows Caroline, a 17-year-old girl, who receives a phone call that delivers the news that her father has been in a motorbike accident. Her unexpected reaction reveals that there is more to the call than it appears at first.

Expectations:

I thought that this film would be a horror, with elements of mystery. Due to the title ‘echo’, I predicted that there would be repetition and a recurring motif throughout the film.

Screen grabs and micro-element/narrative structure analysis:

The mise-en-scene at the beginning of the sequence is very important as apart from Caroline, all the other characters are wearing black and red. The use of red and black could convey blood or anger or even darkness and death, which are themes that the film deals in. Caroline is framed centrally within the wide shot and she walks through the frame towards us, signalling that we should be focused on her.

The lighting throughout the film is quite sombre and Arnold uses a restricted colour palette to show the emotional state of Caroline, emphasising the sadness of the themes dealt with. At this point of the film, we feel pity towards Caroline and are worried about her. But, throughout the film, our reactions to her and her actions change significantly. 

Plot point 1 - we see her face changing in the cab - we realise that she was not telling the truth, and that she is a con-artist. The diegetic sound of her heavy breathing is important as it shows her calming down and suggests that although she cons people, she does not like it and knows that it is immoral. Inside the cab it is relatively quiet, which contrasts to the diegetic sound of the city centre, allowing the audience to process what has happened whilst the cab drives away.

From this long shot, we immediately know that she is performing another con. We are back in the city centre and the isolation of the 2 characters within the frame could be a visual representation of Caroline’s feelings of isolation.  At this point, we are aware of her morals, and unsure about them: the fact that she feels the need to keep this act up makes us pity her, but ultimately, we know that it is wrong. 

The use of oppositional framing shows the effect that the dad’s accident has had on their family dynamic. Her little brother, who seems curious, but equally disturbed, is a key figure in emphasising the severity and immoral aspects of Caroline’s behaviours. His innocence makes us reflect on her role as a con-artist.

Plot point 2 - “how did he know about dad” - we realise that she has unspoken trauma, making us sympathise with her. We become aware that the story she uses to con people was real and that she has a troubled past. This leaves us concerned in a different way to we are at the beginning: we are now more concerned with her psychological, mental state.

The use of slow-motion here communicates a sensation that Caroline’s heart is dropping, and she is reliving a past experience. The use of the Kuleshov effect joins two shots together (this one and a medium close up of her face stained with tears), emphasising her reaction to her brother going out on to the road.

The high angle shot that Arnold uses at this point shows her vulnerability. The hand held, shaky camera highlights a sense of fear, which makes me think that this is not a con, and instead Arnold is showing the real event, taking us back in time. 

This close up is what made me believe that this phone call was the real one. By being able to observe Caroline’s facial expression, we can see true pain overcome her. The performance of the actress is key in communicating her sadness and trauma. Additionally, the use of sound is important as there is a slow fade out of noise, and we are left to focus on her emotional state among a crow of people, making it clear that her world has completely fallen apart.

The ending is left open, we don’t know if she’ll continue to do what she does and we still don’t really know why she is doing it or whether or not she will be discovered - Arnold allows us to interpret this for ourselves.

My response:

The title echo is reflective of the call that is reoccurring throughout the film. We realise that she is reliving a trauma and using it to get money. The use of an open ending, which uses fractured jump cuts, is effective in showing that this was a real event. Being left open, allows us to form our own ideas and we can draw our own conclusions from the story. Personally, I was unsure about whether the last phone call was a flashback or her conning someone again, but either way it made me feel emotional because either her past trauma was revealed or she continued to use her dad’s story to con people, showing her emotional instability. My feelings about Caroline as a character changed throughout the film. I didn’t necessarily feel that she was a protagonist as she feeds off her dad’s accident to help herself and she cons strangers who are only meant to be kind. Also, I felt that she didn’t try very hard in improving her family relationships. But a bad judgement of her didn’t feel fair as she obviously has a lot of built up trauma, causing her to act irrationally.