PROJECTION

Projection may not be a film of great profundity, and the central conceit - a deaf girl (Moss Benyon Jukes - great name!) can hear the thoughts of others - isn’t gonna shake the world of fantasy film-making to its roots, but it’s pulled off with grace, simplicity, and a couple of sweet insights. Most of it is universal stuff that just about anyone could identify with, like the lonely lad (Olly Chatham) and equally lonesome girl (the very pretty Helen Finnemore) whose feelings for each other sit uselessly on the tips of their tongues. Some of it, though, might connect with viewers on a more personal level, like the skater (Will Rees) who turns the music up and screams inside, and the woman (Zoe Jefferies) who’s finding it hard to keep going .

Subtle acting helps - Jukes is probably the stand out by virtue of having more to do than anyone else, and her soft reactions don’t include any of that facial contorting we usually get when actors are pretending to listen. I especially liked her little smile when the lonely couple get together. The other performers, limited to gazing at each other and walking about, effectively convey those inner thoughts without overdoing it; they never look as though there’s someone off-camera telling them to ‘Look sad! Now... longingly look over there!’ My favourite was the man (Rob Schepp) who approaches Jefferies thinking ‘I can do this, I CAN do this. All I need is the confidence,’ and then, far from asking her out, snatches her bag and makes off with it. Neat little surprise.

Also a favourite was the enigmatic ‘How do I tell him?’ from a worried woman to her boyfriend (Danni Harris and Mike Crawshaw). And the rather sad girl (Becky Loftus) who thinks her boyfriend (James Murden) is about to ask her to marry him, or maybe move in with him, but we discover that he’s worrying about missing a footy match. I liked another couple ( Keren McCouaig and Martin Williamson), one of whom is reading a soppy romantic novel while the other scans the Financial Times. Funniest moment award goes to the skater who is later seen flat on his face on the ground, right next to a ‘Keep off the grass’ sign! Arf! The lost boy (Tom Rowland) and his frantic mother (Kelly Matheson) supply the least interesting thread but it’s their story that drives the film, with the boy’s red balloon bobbing around as, presumably, a symbol of all the problems, before floating off into a clear blue sky as they’re resolved. The bag snatcher is left ‘caged’ behind a wire mesh, which I liked.

Impressive direction in this one: the shot circling Jukes’s bonce, with the sound fading away as we move from the ear with her hearing aid to the other; various weird shots through glass archways and portholes. The zoo location is well used, plenty of shots of the inmates. It works, too, because the only being Jukes touches over the course of the film is an elephant who reaches out to her; all the animals are silent observers, just as she is, aloof and uninvolved, watching but rarely interacting. There’s a really nice moment where a sea lion twists joyously through the water. He’s the happiest one in the whole thing!

Countermine, a Bath band who belong in the category of Indierockus Genericus, jar at first when it seems that a more low-key, ponderous score would be more suitable, but they supply a thoughtful, occasionally soulful atmosphere, and I grew to really enjoy their music, especially on the second viewing. Photography is bright and colourful, which adds a little magic to what could easily have been a depressing mope of a movie but emerges as a likeable, sweet, hopeful gem.