Response to Echo

Lewis Arnold's 'Echo' is a short film about a teenage school girl who is seen playing out the same con at three separate points. Using the previous experience of her father's death in a bike accident, she prays on the sympathy of the public for money to get to the hospital when really she's using if for other things like cigarettes. As the film continues we begin to view the con from a more subjective point of view, seeing that it is more of a form of self-harm for her, descending her further and further into sadness and loneliness.
The film is in the style of social realism, with naturalistic acting and set, being shot literally in the street with non-acting public members. We see her self-harm through her use of the lighter, which she permanently grates her thumb across. This reflects her emotional harm. She is separated emotionally from her family, unable to emotionally connect with her mother and not seeing any of them grieve as she does. This stereotype is played against as we see it only comes form her trauma rather than her just being a typical 'moody teen', and so almost portraying a 'coming of age' message.
Caroline, the teenage school girl, is also quite a relatable main character for the audience to connect with, as she is flawed and morally ambiguous just as all people are. We can relate to her struggles even if we would never do as she does, which is why the film manages to slowly become more and more subjective as it progresses.
This can also be seen through the camera work. For example, most shots are from a long distant point of view at the beginning, focusing on her from a less attached viewpoint, only as an observer. however, unlike the public, we are shown that that there is something off, and later we find out that it was a con and that she in fact was acting.
The sound design is mostly naturalistic, using no music but the whole film has a constant background noise of the city. We see the hints of a missing person in their household, such as an untouched bike (presumably her Dad's) in the garage when she is helping her younger brother get his, which then leads onto an ambiguous talk about their dad.