Ellipsis in Writing

If there’s one thing that critics and filmmakers can agree on (and it usually is only one thing…), it’s that writing something fulfilling and satisfying is a frustrating process. Pseudo-documentary Ellipsis in Writing presents the behind the scenes of a man wrestling with a project as he tries to bring a personal story to life.

Director and writer Bobby Sehorn is the focus, playing himself as a writer struggling to bring form to his ideas. Formerly homeless and a recovering addict, the real Sehorn’s life matches that of his character who is trying to make sense of his past with an onscreen representation. He takes guidance from fellow writer Andy Nguyen who helps develop his ideas, as well through virtual conversations with Eric Ripley, a spiritual guide. Through these discussions Bobby considers his life, race, class and other factors that lead people to the life he had led, and how his work can address these.

Ellipsis in Writing is an experimental and illusive piece of work that just about functions as a look at the creative process, but fails to get to grips with a larger purpose. There is as much rumination on filmmaking as audiences are likely to want in the 20-minute runtime, but little sense of the how and why this links to the creation of the art itself. We really see nothing of the process outside of discussions between Bobby Sehorn and his collaborators, purportedly as part of a larger project he is working on. There are developments hinted at, such as a disposal of footage he had previously worked on, but this fails to move the story in any significant way beyond acting as a demonstration that writing can be a tiresome, demoralising endeavour. It’s never ideal for this to be the viewers takeaway from a finished product.

The film is shot statically, framed around Sehorn and Nguyen’s discussion at a table and a Zoom call between Sehorn and Ripley. These scenes are visually uninspiring and dry – carrying with them a sense of realism but not one that serves the film in a positive way that it is crying out for. There is simply not enough to engage or interest viewers when we are given a restricted view seat to a conversation that is midway through. A backing track helps develop a little more sense of momentum, but this seems to be included solely to add even a little bit of vibrancy rather than due to a more considered purpose.

It is a shame that Ellipsis in Writing doesn’t work as Bobby Sehorn’s story sounds like one that is more than worth bringing to screen. Seeing people from challenging backgrounds tackling a creative process can lead to gold, but this is usually once ideas have been properly developed rather than when they are half-baked. Hopefully the titular ellipsis suggests there is more to come, and that this is an experiment that just didn’t quite yield results.