Writer and Director: Joseph Millson
Appropriately for a film in which the central character refuses to speak, Signs of Life, written and directed by Joseph Millson, takes a low-key and hushed approach to drama.
An unspecified tragedy (later events suggest strongly the death of a loved-one in a car accident) leaves Anne (Sarah-Jane Potts) with Selective Mutism. She can speak but chooses not to do so which fits with a lifestyle that seems distinctly analogue – preferring cash to card payments. Seeking closure Anne takes a holiday in Lanzarote but her efforts to find solitude are frustrated by a neighbour’s noisy parties. When she complains the neighbour responds in such an intimidating manner Anne feels threatened and abandons her room sleeping rough on beach benches.
Salvation appears in the form of Bill (David Ganly) who has already been spied behaving oddly- taking overly-cheerful selfies then bursting into tears. Bill explains he has booked a villa to holiday with his children but his bitter ex-wife went back on her word and refused to allow them to attend. Having ascertained Anne’s difficulties he offers her the use of the villa as he feels incapable of continuing his holiday alone and plans to leave early. Anne surprises both of them by accepting the offer but proposing Bill stay as well.
Anne’s proposal actually suits her character which is withdrawn but not unsympathetic. She is able to hold a stilted conversation, via a note pad, with a fellow solo traveller staying at her hotel and her first response upon hearing of Bill’s family frustrations is to thoughtfully ask the names of his children. If Anne is reluctant to speak her fellow guest has the reverse characteristic of over-sharing to a comic degree.
Sarah-Jane Potts suggests a character who is wounded and trying to come to terms with loss rather than someone who has emotionally shut-down. There are hints of past events which have contributed to her situation – Anne reacts with horror to shelves of booze in a supermarket- but there is more the sense of someone struggling towards recovery. There is an extended sunset sequence of Anne testing out her voice to see if she is capable of producing more than a squeak. The actual moment when Anne speaks is realistically downplayed after such an agonised build-up.
By contrast David Ganly disguises Bill’s hurt and sense of injured anger behind an outwardly boisterous performance concealing his confusion. Throughout the film there is a warming sense of community-finding happiness in seeing other people enjoy themselves and benefiting from the kindness of strangers. Attending a parade Anne is glad to see her fellow hotel guest has made a friend and is having a good time.
The warmth of the film comes, however, purely from the interactions between the characters. The outside world is portrayed as at best bleak sometimes even hostile. The palm trees of Lanzarote are surrounded by wasteland full of broken glass and bones and Anne’s wanderings tend to be through shabby pedestrian tunnels rather than along sunlit beaches. The sense of an off-season holiday resort suits Anne’s depressed state of mind.
The drama is beautifully understated. Anne’s efforts to bring the past to a close are daringly revealed wordlessly but then her quest is frustrated when she drops a key object. The scene could be played for laughs or high drama but director Joseph Millson prefers a weary sense of acceptance that plans rarely work out as intended. The default emotion is always melancholia. A rare moment of comedy – a tourist guide becoming flustered at misunderstanding the relationship between Anne and Bill- is followed by the latter ruefully introducing himself to Anne after she has left the room as if he feels for the first time they have made a connection.
Signs of Life does not excite or engage in a conventional manner. However, the vulnerable but appealing characters and the faith in the willingness of people to help strangers and belief in the value of community make for a moving and uplifting movie.
Signs of Life is in select UK cinemas 5 September from Bulldog Film Distribution.
