The majority of films try to transport the viewer into a different world. Whether this world is beyond one’s imagination or close to real life depends on the film viewers choose to see. Films usually want to capture viewers and transfer us into the fictional world we are watching. Movies are capable of taking the viewer away from his or her actual life for an hour or two. But what happens when a film is made in such a raw fashion, with believable characters and problems, that the film does not take us to a far away land? The answer happens to be Rhett and Burke Lewis’s Billy Was a Deaf Kid (2009). The basic plot of the film follows a few days in the life of Sophie (Candyce Foster), her boyfriend Archie (Rhett Lewis) and his brother Billy (Zachary Christian). The couple have conversations, adventures and fights while Billy quietly stays in the background. Billy is deaf and does not communicate with the world around him. The film follows these people as if the camera is documenting them from afar.

The main protagonists of the film seem too real to be fictional characters. Sophie and Archie’s conversations usually being playful and lead to a heated argument, which ends with one or the other giving in and defusing the situation. But this is how real-life young couples usually act. One minute they will be playing around with each other, the next minute they are in a very real fight and the next time you look at the two, they are playing once again. In one sequence the directors decided to cut the dialogue and just let the music play in the background, which is a big variation from other scenes in the film that allow the audience to hear every word the characters are saying. Sophie has just gotten upset with Archie for bringing up her old “guy” friend. They begin to fight and walk to the kitchen, where they end up spilling soda on one another. Archie believes it will blow over so he goes to check on Billy while Sophie storms out of her house. Sophie is then seen pacing in a deserted shopping center at night. She is captured through a long shot when Archie runs up behind her. She attempts to run away, and if one did not know they were a couple it would look like Archie is trying to harm her. She finally gives up trying to escape. The audience watches as the two discuss their problems without overhearing anything they say. For two minutes the viewer watches another argument unfold without being able to hear the dialogue of the fight. When the viewer has almost lost hope for the couple, they hug and the scene ends. It is a fantastic sequence because it is still following the same format the directors have laid out in almost every other argument, but they take away the element of dialogue to achieve a more dramatic effect.

The characters in the film seem like people you know; they are average young adults who are trying to live their lives the best way they know how. While some may argue that this film has a slow pace, I would contend that it lacks action, but makes up for it in dialogue. The main actors in the film embody their characters so well it makes you feel like you are in the room with them while they are having a fight. When they are happy, you are happy; when one gets mad at the other, you become mad. When they get into an argument, you feel embarrassed to be witnessing this even though it is a fictional film.

While Billy is in most of the film, he doesn’t have much to do with the plot. Archie decides he wants to break Billy out of their sister’s clutches and spend the day with him. Billy is unable to communicate with anyone, never learning how to use sign language, so Archie duct tapes a toy tape recorder to Billy’s ear, which allows him the pleasure of hearing sounds and being able to communicate with other people. Besides the element of family conflict between Archie and his sister, Billy does not really play a big role in the film. Perhaps the Lewis brothers just wanted another person to be in the narrative so the viewer would not feel so awkward watching the couple fight.

The two young brothers who directed this film have done a fantastic job of creating a fascinating script that focuses on dialogue to move the film from one action to the next. If this were a big budget film it would not have the same ambience. If Anne Hathaway and James Franco played the main characters, it would not have the same authenticity. The big stars would interrupt the impression that these are people you know. By using excellent unknown actors the audience is engulfed by this complex yet familiar relationship.  The awkward moments between the couple are the best part of the film. When one is watching the two play around it is normal to the audience, but when they begin to fight one feels like they shouldn’t be watching this. It is hard not to squirm in your seat or look away from the screen as the two argue with fiery passion. This film has the grand gift of being able to capture the everyday in an entertaining way. The film seems more like a documentary of a couple you know than a fictional film, but that is what makes it so enjoyable. The audience can relate to the couple, their fights and little adventures, creating a kind of bond between the viewer and film.

Burke Lewis, the co-director of Billy Was a Deaf Kid, was willing to do an interview with Film International.