Emma Clarke (Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah) is a twenty-two year old woman with a dark past. She’s kept her story relatively quiet over the course of the past ten years, but she is about to make a statement for the entire world to see. As television personality Carl Peterson (Timothy J. Cox) interviews the young woman, the world begins to question why, during the most harrowing moment in her life, Emma didn’t Just Scream. This is a story of understanding and heartbreak, and Emma wants the world to feel both.
A film can be developed for a number of reasons, but you’ll often find that the primary two motivations are to entertain or to inform. It feels like Just Scream was intended to do the latter, and that entertaining viewers along the way was irrelevant to writer-director Dawson-Amoah. She wants the world to understand the struggles of people in Emma’s scenario–unfortunately providing any more information regarding that particular scenario would give too much away and ruin the allure of the film. Regardless of Dawson-Amoah’s intentions, however, Just Scream is wildly entertaining–primarily as a result of what Cox and Dawson-Amoah bring to the table in terms of their acting. This film is emotionally heavy and dark, and it requires a certain fortitude from each person involved, particularly the actors. They have to be able to convey the honesty of what each character would be experiencing in each moment–the pain, suffering, and urgency of each person in these moments. Dawson-Amoah and Cox are nearly perfect, and they draw viewers into an intense interview that makes them feel uncomfortable and tense–exactly what Dawson-Amoah presumably wants.
That intensity that emanates from Just Scream’s leads ultimately guides viewers down a path of relevant and useful education. It’s not information for the sake of information, to appear woke, or to make some cultural splash, but rather to put viewers in the shoes of someone like Emma–to be able to feel what it’s like to live through something like she has. I immediately became wrapped up in Emma’s words, and she effectively expresses emotion and allows viewers to feel both for her and with her. That empathy is somewhat paralyzing, because prior to hearing Emma’s testimony, I imagine that many individuals struggled to appreciate the gravity of the situation in question.
The majority of Just Scream is filmed using the standard over-the-shoulder shot, as the bulk of the film plays out as an interview. This works wonders for the focus of the story because, through most of the film, Emma is the focus, and Carl gets to sit to the side, rather than take anything away from the film’s lead character. The cinematography is so perfectly done that, while Emma expresses her story and her feelings, the camera slowly zooms in and Carl is lost somewhere off screen–and viewers don’t even notice until he’s completely absent from the screen. Mike Klubeck, head of cinematography, is so precise in his shots and in his movements that it’s impossible not to fall in love with all that he accomplishes.
Again, Just Scream feels like a film that is meant more to educate and inform rather than to entertain. The story that Emma is telling the world opens viewers’ eyes to the dilapidated reality in which we often live, and it’s gut wrenching and painful–but even more so it begs viewers to understand her pain. Along the way, however, Just Scream presents viewers with a number of technically proficient individuals including Cox, Dawson-Amoah, and Klubeck. That precision lends itself to an entertaining film, and it does just that in addition to its informative purpose–entertain. Just Scream is deep and meaningful, and it resonates with viewers on a very emotional level; it’s everything it needs to be and then some.
Written & Directed by Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah.
Starring Emurakua Dawson-Amoah, Timothy J. Cox, Kat Aman, & Mitya Lesnevski.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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