Stutterer (Cleary, 2015)

Narrative Structure: Stutterer is about a man who suffers from a stutter and explores how it hinders his life. It is set in modern England with specifically mention London. The short film starts with the man attempting to call a broadband company but the person on the other hangs up under the impression that he cannot hear her. The film ends with the man trying to meet an online friend who he discovers is deaf and therefore uses sign language to communicate. Throughout the film, the main character gives narration over certain scenes as an expression to the audience of some of the things that he is thinking which leads to words being said rapidly and sometime multiple of the same word several times in the sentence. Along with this, some of his narrations involve analysing people around him (which he refers to as “snap judgement” which his is shown to be something done regularly as the two within the film are labelled as 1224, 1225 and 1226) while others show what he would say to those he attempts to talk to.

Cinematic Influences: When the main character is shown messaging Ellie, he is shown from a low angle which implies he is being shown from the viewpoint of his laptop. This contrasts with how he is usually shown from head on to bring the audience closer to him. During a night based sequence, POV shots are used between the main character and a stranger at a bus stop in order to bring the audience closer to the events and create a sense of fear for the safety of the main character. There are multiple scenes where voices sound muffled to show how the main character feels about life. When he goes to meet Ellie, the main character’s thoughts overlap to show how he is overwhelmed with the prospect of meeting her. A reaction shot is used to show the main character’s disappointment at Ellie not wanting to show text speak. Along with this, a montage is used to show him getting ready towards the end. At multiple times in the short film, the main character is shown to smoking in order to imply he is often stressed by his condition and this is how he manages it. After the conflict in one of the night sequences, the main character is shown with a bandage over his nose to imply what happened after the camera cut away from the sequence. When the main character stutters in the film, his voice has a sense of pain in it to show how much his condition effects him. This is also displayed in his facial expressions and movements, such as how he often looks around nervously and how he awkwardly adjusts his clothes out of concern for how others view him. Along with this, the main time he smiles is in his interactions with a virtual friend called Ellie. In order to get out of conversations, the main character attempts to use alternative forms of communication such as how he regularly messages a friend through Facebook and how he dodges a conversation with a stranger by pretending to be deaf. The genre is simply a drama.

Creating Meaning and Response: The main piece of representation that is displayed in the film is how disabilities are shown through the main character’s stutter which is a core element of the film.