Escapism – Short Film Review

★★★

Directed by: #TerrellWilliams

Starring: #ChristinaMancari, #JafethGarcia, #BobbyJRomay

Short Film Review by Taryll Baker

Lilly, living in a society that cages people like animals for not adapting to the new world order, is joined by another prisoner in her cell, and she shows him her form of escapism.

Terrell Williams’ Escapism is a speedy little mini film that shows how the mind cannot be imprisoned. There’s always a way out of a situation with some simple self control. This resonates with most things in my daily life that’s for sure — catching yourself slipping and then allowing your mind to ease up and focus on something else can be beneficial. Something I’ve learned over the past months.

This is super short filmmaking; running at only 3 minutes and, while it does kind of end up cutting itself off too quickly, there’s a nice meaning held in the core; a message of hope in all darkness. And certainly something to remember during these trying times we’re facing. Escapism is important. It can come from many things, big and small, from a movie to a walk in the night. Or in this case, dancing. Lilly is held prisoner in a dark cell for not adapting to the new world order. We’re introduced to her way of escaping through dance, then quickly shown a cut back to reality in which a second prisoner, Luis, is brought in to accompany her. He finds her offer of water insulting at first but quickly changes his mind, and then, as Lilly reaches her hand out to him, they dance together and escape the cold confines of the cell.

There’s a small crew for this film, given its scale, with cinematography (I’m presuming) by Williams. The camerawork is very controlled, and the colour grading on the sections where the two characters dance and “escape” is very pretty. Due to the short length, there isn’t much time for a score but the one piece Steve Holman does provide is decent enough. There’s a lot to be desired in the detrimental sound quality for the dialogue, but luckily there isn’t a huge amount of this and the story — as thin as it is — is told mostly through visuals.

I think it’s incredibly challenging to tell any story in under 10 minutes, and Escapism attempts this at only 3 minutes. So it’s expected it wouldn’t be the most exciting or captivating piece, since there’s simply not enough time for the viewer to settle in. But it’s a good idea and fairly well executed.

#TaryllBaker