Miracle Fish directed by Luke Doolan

Provide a brief description of the film.

A young boy named Joe is bullied in the beginning and seeks refuge in the nurses' office.  He takes a nap and awakes to an empty school.  He wanders around the school and eventually encounters an armed gunman who is very anxious.  Gunman is killed.

What is the tone/mood?

The mood changes.  In the beginning, you feel compassion for Joe when he is getting bullied.  After he awakes from his nap, he is alone and wanders around the school where the viewer feels some relief the child isn't being bullied anymore.  However, there is also a feeling of anxiousness that something is going to happen, most likely something that could harm Joe.  In the end when Joe encounters the gunman, there is a feeling of fear that our protagonist is in danger.

How does the dialog influence the film?

The dialog in this film only revealed certain things about the lives of Joe and the gunman.  Through the dialog, we learn that Joe's father is in the hospital and his family isn't financially stable.  We learn that gunman is mentally unstable because of his somewhat incoherent babble, probably was just in a bad spot with money as he repeats "You can't turn 65 cents into a dollar", and had some family related issues as well.

In what ways does the cinematography affect the film?

The director uses shots to show mostly how empty the school has become and how alone Joe is in the world.  He also uses certain shots to show something or someone that will be significant in the future.

What scene or part of a scene do you like the best? Why?

My favorite scene was the scene where Joe is walking in a empty gym with desks in it and the camera is following Joe as he walks through the aisles from his eye level.  It feels, as Joe walks down the aisles, the rooms is very large and continues for a very long time adding to the sense of loneliness and another intuitive feeling that something bad had happened.

What was my opinion of the film?

I enjoyed it thoroughly as the director used certain sequences of shots to its fullest.  However, the film was too predictable to my taste and revealed too much in the beginning for me.  I prefer surprises than figuring things out before they happen.