No One Can Hear You

No One Can Hear You follows Fermi (David Olaniregun), an individual who wakes up aboard a derelict spacecraft, rescued by a lone castaway, Milo (Finn O’Toole). As they both strive to repair the ship and return to Earth, a troubling revelation emerges. The piece evidently wears its influences on its sleeve, with direct homages to Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) in its title and thematic borrowings from other science fiction properties.

No One Can Hear You almost immediately draws the viewer into its dense yet grounded spacecraft setting, with an incredibly creative opening title sequence that showcases its astounding production design. Despite the film's budget constraints working against it, the VFX and set design are immaculate, making the experience feel lived-in and transformative for the audience. While its concept and narrative feel derivative of other science fiction media, there’s a clear passion and love from the filmmakers in each frame. Even if it does borrow a lot from other pieces of science fiction, the execution of these ideas and themes is the most important factor when making a film, and the filmmakers execute their material with flying colours. The use of subtle world-building is effective as the dialogue never gets bogged down in exposition, making the viewer instantly engage with its dense futuristic setting.

Despite the film taking place in a one-location setting for its entirety, the pacing remains steady and engaging as both characters devise a plan to repair the spacecraft. The chemistry and witty dialogue help as we see Fermi and Milo’s relationship grow, which is one of the most engaging aspects of the material. This keeps their relationship fairly grounded despite its setting. Fred Newnham, serving as the film's composer, delivers a low-key and melancholic musical score, anchoring the more emotionally resonant dialogue-heavy scenes. The piece possesses a brisk runtime and steady pace; however, the incredible editing takes its time in fleshing out the characters and setting. The material never overstays its welcome or concludes too soon.

Gabi Talalaj, serving as the film's camera operator, primarily utilises tracking camera movement in the opening of the piece as Fermi attempts to devise a solution to the isolated situation he finds himself in. This builds some visceral tension almost immediately and keeps the viewer in a state of vulnerability throughout. The use of needle drops is also a surprisingly impactful factor, which fits the film's tonal shifts exceptionally well. While the use of animation in exterior shots outside the spacecraft can be distracting, it's an impactful compromise given the budget the filmmakers are working with.

The performances are solid across the board, in particular David Olaniregun’s portrayal of the central character Fermi. It's an impressive performance given how he conveys so much with only one other performer present for most of the runtime, as he attempts to figure out what happened to him and his fellow crew member Ola (Jadesola Odunjo). Finn O’Toole, in contrast, uses more subtle characterisation in his portrayal of Milo, presenting the character in a more closed-off way, which is later explored in the film's central revelation.

While the central revelation is somewhat predictable, if the audience is familiar with other science fiction media, its execution is impactful as the film draws to a haunting and open-ended conclusion.

No One Can Hear You is an engaging yet derivative piece of science fiction which executes its ideas tremendously. Despite its shortcomings and over-reliance on homage, it's a well-made piece of indie filmmaking anchored by its central performances and astounding production design.