Only A Call Away

A young woman goes on a journey of revelation in the confines of her own apartment in Maelle Leggiadro’s Only A Call Away. This British-French short captures the moments of heartbreak one endures in a lopsided relationship with elegance and style.

Anna (Abigail Johnson) spends her nights at home alone, ignoring texts from her family in favour of long calls with her lover Cliff (Chino Amaechi). As a married man with children, Cliff’s presence in her life comes from fleeting encounters, but his absence leaves Anna directionless and numb. She feeds her yearning with a late-night call, but begins to see her situation for what it is.

Produced on a shoestring budget, Only A Call Away brilliantly and empathetically captures the complex emotions, risk, and cost of an affair. Maelle Leggiadro’s short is nonjudgemental and succeeds in examining Anna and Cliff’s relationship from the perspective of the younger woman – though managing to also demonstrate that Cliff’s story is not as simple as it may seem. The film is focused only on Anna, with Chino Amaechi never actually appearing on screen. Instead, only his voice is present over the phone – a simple but devastatingly effective demonstration that he cannot possibly be the supporting player in her life, no matter what he says in their conversation.

It there is some noticeably absent consideration of the consequences of the relationship for Cliff’s family. Cliff makes a number of references to them as an obstacle to the affair ever developing into something deeper. But Anna spends little time pondering what her actions may do to those Cliff has committed his life to. This isn’t to moralise, or even critique the character – as the film is from Anna’s perspective and it is credit to Leggiadro that she does not sanitize her protagonist. But it also does not feel like it is the filmmakers’ intention to make Anna unlikable. Some viewers will inevitably conclude this however due to her seeming lack of care, and find the story not one of a young woman finding her way, but of a callous confidant escaping consequence.

The film is gorgeously shot – feeling alive and invigorating despite being largely set in the same room. Anna’s abode is as much of a hot mess as she is – with hints of a much larger life all over the place which adds a ton of silent development to the character, which is essential in the 12-minute runtime. When the conversation moves outside, the black night stands in for an uncertain abyss, as Anna realises that the scariest choice might yet be the right one.

The strength of the writing also deserves a mention, an essential cog for a film driven by a phone call. Anna and Cliff’s conversation is human and believable, building each half of the relationship and slowly unravelling the affair slowly and shockingly. Leggiadro’s script does away with any grand statements or theatrical whimsy in favour of difficult, guarded language, familiar flirting and a reserved ending that speaks of two people trying to avoid further pain.

Only A Call Away has true depth and meaning, certain to speak to people who have experienced similar situations to Anna and Cliff but one that will trigger emotions regardless of viewer. Not everyone will be a positive response to the characters, but it is impossible not to pick up the phone.