Written and directed by Saoirse Ronan, when a defiant young girl stages a silent protest, refusing to return home until the disruptive presence of her father is gone, her mother must decide whether to follow her or let her go. Starring: Martha Malone, Clare Dunne, Tim Creed and Míla Ré Creed McNamara.
One of the elements which Saoirse Ronan achieves extremely well, immediately within Paper Plane is establishing the atmosphere. One that is filled with emotion and manages to effortlessly communicate the issues of this short film, without any dialogue and very little physicality. As soon as you enter the world of Paper Plane you can feel that dense air of abuse and pain, it’s rife with sadness and that specific kind of isolation which comes from existing in an abusive household.
Ronan also does a wonderful job of portraying how children observe and understand far more than they’re often given credit for. It can be truly underestimated how deeply they are impacted when living in that environment, and how it shapes who they are, and their perspective. It’s also captured in a way which is not heavy or melancholy, there’s a good grasp on the darker emotions while remaining in a youthful, at times playful, atmosphere. Using a lot of stillness and quiet to ground the visual, but also changing things up to match the progression of the story.
Once Ronan has established that emotional foundation, she switches to a lighter side in a way that will put a genuine smile on your face. That key scene is greatly touching and is a lovely reminder of the healing power of music, in being able to momentarily lose yourself, connect with others and create positive memories. It matches so well with the earnest, wholesome style of Paper Plane. The cinematography from Kate McCullough (The Quiet Girl) in particular has a surprising warmth, it really taps into that feel of childhood memories.
Martha Malone and Clare Dunne both give quietly moving performances. There’s very limited dialogue and for most of the film they’re physically far apart, so that relationship has to be built in subtler ways and they do a great job. There’s a thoughtful simplicity to their performances which allows the complex topic to speak for itself, rather than having the actors try to over-communicate the conflict and pain. They can instead focus on that relationship, and the push and pull of trying to do the right thing for your family.
However, when Paper Plane enters its final moments, this is when Ronan steps off of that simpler path. Crafting something more open to interpretation which will work for some better than others. It can feel as though it’s trying a bit too hard and not reflecting the otherwise humble tone of the film. As well as raising some questions which viewers will never really get answers for, which is again not something that everyone will connect with.
Paper Plane is a really solid directorial debut from Saoirse Ronan, it demonstrates a lot of qualities which are familiar from her work in front of the camera: empathy, compassion and integrity. Her direction crafts a youthful air, while also strongly capturing the experiences that are beyond the years of her young lead. Taking that very young perspective creates a warm, softened, wholesome air which is touching. There’s also a great use of quiet and ambient sound. It’s led by two moving performances from Martha Malone and Clare Dunne, but it takes some swings with its ending which raises more questions than it answers, and may potentially divide viewers.
