Director Lawrence Valin has garnered quite an acclaim for both of his directorial efforts. His previous short-film won big at Clermont Ferrand. With ‘The Loyal Man', he takes it to another level by getting an award for his acting performance as well. This second short film, which is also written and directed by him, is part of this year's Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). Within the 37 minutes, he is able to bring a surprising level of exuberance with his prowess over the craft.
“The Loyal Man” is screening at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Through the short, we take a dive into the psyches of two characters, both of whom appear just as muted as the other. The male character, Aathi (played by the director himself), is part of a Tamil smuggling-ring that operates in Paris. As opposed to his problematic background, Minnale (played by Aurora Marion) is just another young, innocent immigrant without any clear goals or prospects. While both of them essentially helm the same cultural background, their positions in this situation are vastly different. Aathi's silent gaze creeps one out, makes its presence felt. It seems to have no human element that will make him anything, apart from being this callous trafficker. He is stoic, not for even an ounce of sincere individual interest, but rather for the sheer loyalty to his Sir- the Master (played by Anthonythasan Jesuthasan).
The lack of emotional attachment to the humans that he is supposed to handle keeps Aathi at bay regarding any clarity or moral thinking. He does his job merely as a matter of loyalty towards the master who may have possibly helped him in some way in the past. As a result, Minnale's sudden appearance and her gradual involvement in their domestic activities are bound to make Aathi have a reality check. His ethical wandering becomes more and more visible to us as he starts getting emotionally closer to her. He smiles almost discreetly, being a little too careful for the emotions not to spill out. His ghost-like presence just goes along with hers, which more-or-less has to do with the lack of purpose in both their lives. That is what puts them in this trap, where they just have to play the mutually-opposite roles assigned to them. What makes them bound to these roles? Does loyalty matter more to him than the cost of human life? ‘The Loyal Man' constantly navigates this question.
All these thematic complexities would have gone to waste if not for its tonal consistency. The editing by Anais Manuelli is able to achieve almost a melancholic layer over all the spaces these characters inhabit. The individual scenarios do not pop out, which inadvertently gives the film a lyrical rhythm. The continuous tracking shots are cleverly cut in order to take us through the characters' haunting journeys, without glorifying where they reach. As a result, the aforementioned ghost-like presence is conveyed justifying the emotional place these characters come from. Their fate is designed for them by someone else, which leaves them little to no control over actually knowing where they would end up.
Besides that, the film's cinematographer Maxence Lemonnier is able to bring an incredible amount of grittiness through the cityscapes, while constantly giving a sense of their alienated lives. Through his framing, we are constantly reminded of how both Aathi and Minnale are prisoners of this destiny, assigned to them by someone else. Her wandering eyes appear behind a closed window of his car, almost reminding of a scared lamb that is aware of its fate. And in another scene, his eyes appear even more sinister through a simple, gentle push-in of the camera. Thanks to the film's ceaselessly haunting score, the narrative hardly loses any emotional beat.
And both the central performers never miss a bit either. Through all the aforementioned traits of the characters, they take us on their respective journeys where their eyes are enough to lead us. Their postures are so neatly orchestrated with the theme that even a momentary awkwardness makes its presence felt. Many of these elements make‘The Loyal Man', a highly rewarding and stirring experience.
