High-rise by Gabrielle Russell

High-rise is a short drama clip which is about a woman who seems to suffer from post natal depression, who lives in high risen flats in Leeds.

The first shot is of the baby happily playing with a doll on a sofa, we then pan to his mother who to me looked depressed, pale and dishevelled. I think the director has done well in portraying this character like this, the lack of make-up on her shows me that she has given up on trying to look pretty this representing she feels run-down and very un-happy. The camera then pans around the women’s room which contrasts with her character, toys are littered on the floor, the colours are bland and the walls are mucky. We immediately realise this women has no pride in how she looks, or how her house looks anymore she has given up. In this clip we can hear the voices of contestants on a TV show the women is watching, I found this very loud to which I realised this is done deliberately by the women so she can drown out her baby who is making noises in my opinion the baby annoys her and she does not want him.
Throughout the three minute clip I also found out that this female character does not interact with the baby at all, this enforces the fact that she regrets having him.

The baby then throws the doll towards an open window; inquisitively he goes to fetch the doll. The mother sees this and attempts to stop him giving us the hope that she actually cares about this baby. However, she drops to the floor also dropping the baby’s bottle, this proves the fact that she has physically given up as well as mentally giving up.
The women then looks at the baby who is getting closer to the window but does not attempt to get up, we then see numerous shots of the bottle which has begun to drip on the floor. The camera focuses on the milk which in my opinion represents her zoning out from her surroundings, choosing to forget. The milk dripping shows her life dripping away with the burden of having a child, she isn’t able to do things she wants in life because of this baby.
The women then slowly glance towards the door before getting up towards it.

We are then located into a dark corridor where she shuts the door, this symbolizing she’s blocking out what’s happening in the living room. The hallway is dark which shows she is hiding from the fact she knows what may happen to the baby. Sound is used cleverly in this shot as all we can hear is her breathing cutting out all sounds around her she is seizing the chance to change her life.

However, we then hear screams to which she immediately runs into the room to which we find out that it’s actually on the telly, the camera then cuts to a shot of the baby who is safe and playing with another toy. She then runs to the window and looks down at the doll which has fallen. I think this shot is shown to make us, and her realise what could have happened. The camera then moves away from the block of flats, this to me is a cliff hanger as to what could happen next, we are left with the questions of. ‘Is she redeemed with the realisation of what could have happened to her baby?’ And ‘what will she do next?’

I really enjoyed watching High Rise, it kept me engaged the whole time and I understood what was happening throughout the clip, the clip touches on the matter of reality, this does happen in day to day lives, and I think the director wanted us to feel sorry for this woman as post natal depression affects millions of women and she is showing us the effects of it. There is no narrative to the clip which I think makes it successful, we are able to determine the situation and what’s happening through facial expressions and sound. I also think the director is successful with dealing with the subject matter’s she creates an atmosphere with mise-en-scene, such as the décor of the room, the use of (or lack of) make up.