Violet (2017)

A teen witnesses a murder and must come to terms with what he saw.  Through his interactions with friends and family, he attempts to but can’t seem to find the way.

Violet was written and directed by Bas Devos, for whom this is a first feature according to IMDB.  This film is interesting in terms of how it develops around the lead that saw the murder.  It’s a simple story with strong emotional impact in terms of a teen dealing with grief, survivor guilt, and other hard feelings to handle at such at any age, especially as a teen.  The film explores this with mostly following the lead’s daily life and what he sees while trying to work through this.  The story has good, interesting elements but what really shine are the lead, its actor, and the visuals.

In the lead part of Jesse, young actor Cesar De Sutter gives a fantastic performance that grabs the viewer and gives them something to connect with.  His acting is subtle and nuanced; he gives just the right amount of teen angst, sadness, and grief to his part.  Most of the film depending on him, his performance is of utmost importance and he handles the difficult material with talent and brio.  The rest of the small cast is also very good, a testament to the director’s talent and capacities.

The film here has a very hard subject, yet it has some soft images to soften the results.  The images created are dreamlike, at times like a real-life Silent Hill setting, others just beautiful images that create a much different feel for the film than the usual for these types of subjects where most films would have gone for a sweet or more colorful/even darker.  This film takes things in more subtle ways and shows the story through an almost foggy lens.

The way these images are cut into the story, in between scenes with the lead and his family and friends is part of what makes the film work.  The look of the film and how it is built are what give the film a lot of its impact.  This way of putting the images together, of going from people to scenery and back, creating this depressing mood for the viewer which hangs heavily throughout the film, leading to a successful passing of emotions from the lead and those around him to the viewer who can’t help but keep watching until the very end where things may or may not be clearer for anyone.

The film purposefully has very little sound which is definitely by design by writer/director Bas Devos.  The lack of sound is something that is mindful and has to be deliberate as a film without music at this point is usually a sign that it’s a wanted thing.  Here it helps set the mood and tone of the film and for the lead while also not pushing the viewer in any specific direction with sounds or music.  The film has its own sound in terms of how there are sounds, but many scenes are silent or practically silent.  This works very well here and adds a lot to the film’s mood and story even.

Inherently, Violet is not a bad movie, it’s good but it’s very, very slow moving and mellow.  The film’s tone is somehow relaxing in a way that makes its story and message seep in slowly and with beautiful images.  Violet is a moving film but may not be for everyone as it is slow, moody, and depressing.  It hits many buttons and does so with talent and a great lead performance.