This American Life’s (TAL) “Escape” episode, Act 1, is about Mike Phillips, a 27-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) that has left him bedridden and unable to speak on his own much of the time.
TAL’s use of the reenactment style with dramatically angled Point of View (POV) shots transports the viewer into seeing and experiencing the world through Mike’s eyes as he lives his life – horizontally. In addition, the documentary maker adds strategic Extreme Close Ups (XCU), Extreme Long Shots (XLS), Rule of Thirds composition, filmmaker problem solving (using a voiceover from Johnny Depp for a protagonist that can’t speak), cinematic shots, Cinéma Vérité, interview and journalistic styles to aid and complement the primary reenactment and POV approach, all meant to take the viewer on journey through Mike’s experiences, emotions, setbacks and achievements as he struggles to gain independence and maintain his relationship with his able-bodied girlfriend.
Ira Glass opens first on camera, and then with narration (in somewhat of a journalistic style minus the corny sing-sing cadence) following natsound as Mike’s quest for freedom to live his life as fully and independently as he can. But his health condition makes him reliant on his mother’s care, which causes tension and conflict with Mike, his mom and Mike’s girlfriend. The unanswered is ‘Will Mike gain his independence?’ There’s also a subplot that takes us through a break-up with his girlfriend and Mike’s desire to reunite. Hence, a second unanswered question, ‘Will Mike get back together with Sara?’ – which coincides with the quest for independence.
The first five shots are an abrupt yet intimate introduction into Mike’s life using POV, Cinéma Vérité, artistic and bold Rule of Thirds composition, ambient sound, hard edits and XCUs to introduce the viewer to the story as the filmmaker tells us to “look at this.”
The first shot at :45 screams POV and sets the stage for the entire piece. We are looking up at a ceiling fan and hearing its monotonous whooshing ambient sound. It’s Mike’s POV lying on his bed. The film shooting and editing techniques made me feel the glacier pace of time that accompanies the boredom and tedium of being bedridden and struggling with a physically debilitating disease. I experienced the seconds ticking away like years.
A hard cut immediately follows to show an XCU of Mike’s his left eye with a reflection of his computer screen on his eyeglass lens. In a not-so-corny journalistic voiceover, Glass narrates how Mike communicates by blinking his eyes and tapping his finger on a device to spell out sentences on a computer screen. A medium shot follows connecting the first two shots like a puzzle, giving the viewer a witness POV, which his further enhanced with Cinéma Vérité/wide shot and then an XCU of Mike’s finger. TAL is deliberately telling the viewer to “look at this” with these filming and editing techniques.
Also, the staccato music used in the above shot, accompanied by the ambient sound of Mike’s finger lightly tapping out his words, convey both the fragility and tedium tied to Mike’s modes of communication and delicate connection to survival.
I found the POVs in this piece are some of the most effective techniques used by TAL in telling Mike’s story so well. I felt nearly physically transported into Mike’s POV by seeing the world at his dramatic angles – like this one showing Mike’s mom coming into his room at 16:22:
Or this one (below) at 16:37 as Mike’s mom pushes him through a grocery store. This scene is also accompanied by heavy, pounding music to signify a particularly depressing time of Mike’s life when he and his girlfriend broke up – which Johnny Depp narrates/voices over reading from Mike’s emails .
There’s also a dreamy cinematic POV shot of a stroll through the park as Mike’s girlfriend pushes him. We see what Mike sees – the sky. The filmmakers use pleasant/romantic music to complement the mood and footage filled with natural and pleasing light – conveying a sense of harmony when the relationship was going well. We also see smooth tight, medium and wide shots of the park stroll. The overall feel is gliding and carefree, also depicted by the choice of camera motion, (either a gimbal or dolly) and the feeling expressed is effortless and gliding – much like that of a happy couple enjoying each other’s company.
In addition, TAL gives the classic interview style a unique twist, while practicing some genius filmmaking problem solving, by employing a surrogate-voice of Johnny Depp. As described earlier, Mike can’t talk most of the time and he communicates typing out words on a laptop suspended above his bed. He does this letter-by-letter using a software program that transmits completed sentences in a robotic voice simulator. He also uses emails and blogs to write about his personal experiences.
As Glass points out, this is “painstakingly slow” and poses a problem for editing and airing the piece. One sentence takes about three minutes to type out. In addition, the artificial voice is also dehumanizing and doesn’t do Mike justice. To solve the problem, Glass asks Mike if he would like a surrogate voice.
At 2:08 Glass syas, “So, if we were to replace your voice with somebody’s, like, what would you want it to be?”
“I totally want either Johnny Depp, or Edward Norton, whoever is available, because either way, they are both badasses,” Mike replies (at 2:24).
Apparently, Norton wasn’t available.
“Ladies and gentlemen, reading from Mike’s emails, Mr. Johnny Depp,” Glass announces.
Hence, TAL gives Mike a human voice, employs an imaginative spin on the interview approach, problem solves the audio dilemma and empowers him all at the same time with the voice of a fellow bad asses (Depp) – as we quickly realize Mike’s well-earned place in that exclusive ‘bad ass’ club. To me this can be best summed up as nothing short of brilliant on the filmmakers’ behalf. I felt that sense of joy that comes with well-deserved empowerment watching and hearing this problem-solving technique unfold in this part of the episode.
Elsewhere in the piece, TAL uses old home movies and photos as a reenactment technique depicting Mike’s childhood growing up with SMA. Seeing the footage (with time stamp) lends both authenticity and bittersweetness as we watch the little boy release a balloon go into the sky (3:35), while the voiceover describes his loss of physical abilities as the years go by.
Moreover, the ‘show don’t tell’ images and footage the documentary makers use throughout the piece are dynamic – adding further connection to the protagonist. For example, sometimes Mike uses his eyebrows to signal the words yes and no. Between 19:18 and 19:23 we see an extremely distinctive matched action sequence to show (not tell) this when Mike is outside having a conversation with his girlfriend. The matched action XCU, tight and medium shots show his eyeglass lenses going up and down as propelled by the motion of his eyes moving.
This same sequence also evokes a sense of tenderness as we steal a glimpse into a moment between the couple, concluded with Cinéma Vérité shots, such as the one below at 19:49. This entire sequence is edited so well, I almost felt like an intruder. Like, if I made a noise, Mike and Sara would turn around and wonder what the hell I was doing there. When a piece draws me in so close to the characters that I forget which side of the screen I’m on, it’s hard to forget. You can absolutely feel the closeness between the two. The scene’s striking primary colors also draw the eye in and are naturally appealing.
In a darker part of Mike’s journey, TAL uses Extreme Long Shots (ELS) engulfed in darkness with a single spot light on Mike as a form of reenactment to reveal Mike’s near-death experiences. The ELS, coupled with the lighting evokes a sense of isolation, stillness, morbidity and death (13:05).
In another part, TAL speeds up footage and use XCU shots to reenact and create a sense of anxiety, jitteriness and confusion when Mike became too reliant on pain medication. The music in this sequence is also forbidding with heavy base tones to amplify the mood. This starts at about 13:38.
The interview style is also used throughout the piece with Mike’s mom, girlfriend, brother and former assistant. This aids reenactment with witness POVs in sharing Mike’s story.
Overall, I feels TAL’s Escape, Act 1 episode is primarily a form of reenactment style and strong POV, reinforced with a variety of the other styles, filming and editing techniques found within the Visual Language to to tell Mike’s story. As usual, TAL leaves us with the big takeaway on an important message, or lesson learned. This one comes straight from Mike (via Depp voiceover) concluding he “only recently became aware of how tenuous my life is. So, I don’t really have time to waste on fear.” TAL uses a uniquely framed shot showing the tension and conflict in Mike’s relationship with his mother as he contemplates what he hopes his life to be in the future. The framing is a deliberate ‘show, don’t tell’ at 23:28.
As far as the unanswered questions… Does Mike gain his independence from his mom? Does he get back with Sara? This is a piece well worth watching to find out.
-Ann Powers