Contraction

Above: Still from "Contraction" by Chris Hewitt

The directors aim was to explore rebirth and I didn't really get that until the class discussed it.

One element that stood out was the effects used to create the floor separating into chunks and moving with each compression. I felt that this created a sense of the enormity of the ordeal he was going through, physically and mentally to be brought back to life and that it was very effective in exploring the connection between the two characters, like an emotional upheaval represented through the shifting earth.

However, I didn't like the line "Where'd you go?" as I felt it undermined the whole previous sequence and the fact that it's the only bit of speech in the entire film that we hear, doesn't seem to make sense to me. I felt that it could have been more effective to have an understanding silence between the two - using close ups of facial features such as her concerned eyes, etc to create the feeling of intensity and understanding between the characters. Or perhaps to focus more on the male character who has just been through that.

In High Rise, I felt that the length of the film was just right whereas here, I did not. I just wanted more from it, maybe not more narrative, maybe just something more. I did think that it was only the opening and when I saw the credits I was left with the feeling of an unfinished project. I felt that it didn't conclude and I was left with too many questions. I understand that the aim may be to create questions but for me, there were just too many.

Reflecting on it, I feel a little more able to understand what it was trying to do than I did when I watched it but I still feel that it didn't give enough to connote it's message or to explore fully rebirth. I didn't feel it was particularly successful because I didn't feel engaged to the situation, I was unattached completely and I felt it was left unfinished.