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The Door – Ava DuVernay

Review and critique at least one short film production

‘The Door’ – Directed by Ava DuVernay, USA, 2013

The short film, ‘The Door’ was directed by Ava DuVernay. It features only African-American women and Gabrielle Union stars as the main character. We witness her emotional journey as she deals with heartbreak and the hopeless feelings of a failed marriage. However, this is not revealed to the viewer until the very end of the short film. Throughout the film, the main character is visited by different friends who engage her in a range of activities, from dinner to clubbing, to change her attitude about her situation. The short film’s central theme is about finding the strength to continue moving forward, even when life becomes difficult. DuVernay conveys this idea through the motif of the door and the people that come through it.

‘The Door’ is a fashion film. It opens with a wide shot of a beautiful woman standing outside in a striking red dress. This opening shot is powerful, as all the colours in the film, except for red, are subdued and weakly saturated. This is an impactful decision as red has connotations of love. It is the only colour that appears boldly in the story, signifying how overwhelmed by the loss of love in her life that the character feels. The short film scenes were close-ups shots as this captured the depth of emotion the characters were feeling while drawing the viewer into the moment. Interestingly, DuVernay contrasted these close-up shots with more sweeping shots. In these, she placed the women in the scene on the edge of the frame. I found this intriguing as the imbalance within these shots created a sense of unease and emphasised the emptiness the character was feeling by focusing on the environment’s plainness.

What was most impressive about DuVernay’s directing style was that there was no dialogue in the film. She embraced the power of music instead. She used it to convey critical ideas about the emotions the main character was feeling, and as a segue to transition between scenes and introduce new characters. It starts off with instrumental, sombre jazz music to reflect the depressive state of the main character. As the film progresses, the music becomes more lively to reflect a change in perspective within the main character. Eventually, we witness the central character cross through the door on her own. This signifies to the audience that she is taking control of her life. It contrasts with previous scenes as she no longer has to rely on her friends to get her to embrace the life that exists outside the confines of her house.

What I loved most about the film was the use of sound. It displaced dialogue and allowed the audience to experience the emotions the character felt on a new level. It allowed me to focus on the short film’s visuals while the music set the tone and mood for each scene. It was interesting to me how, despite having no dialogue, I could infer the reasons behind the central characters’ emotions and behaviours. The film, however, lacked a strong narrative. The cuts between brief moments of joy and scenes of barren landscapes made it challenging, at times, to understand the film’s purpose. Also, the door is significant to the intention of the film. However, the close-up shots made it difficult for its symbolism to be understood immediately.  intended symbolism can easily be missed as the close-up shots made it difficult to see at first that the door had significant meaning to the intention of the film. Regardless, I will recommend the short film as the use of sound was inspiring and the way DuVernay manipulates colour to convey critical themes made the short film visually appealing.

Comments

  1. Holly Black

    Hi Tiwa, this is a great review, you show really good understanding of the film makers’ techniques particularly camera and edit in creating the audience journey and emotional impact of this short film. You have achieved section 5. Well done! Holly

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