Tether

Tether is a rather expertly crafted drama directed by Hariharasudhen Nagarajan. Written by Anghus Houvouras, this feature film tells the incredibly bleak story of two men attempting to move forward after the horrific event of a school shooting. Told from multiple complex perspectives, the film paints a tragic portrait of loss, guilt and mourning – all with the assistance of some phenomenal technical filmmaking. We follow one character called Leonard (Nick Giedris), the father of a girl who was killed in the shooting; we also follow Gerald (Benjamin Burton), the cop who found himself paralysed with fear on the day of the tragedy and unable to prevent the attack. Both men just began counselling with a therapist (Laura Faye Smith), causing their fates to collide in potentially destructive ways.

I’d like to begin by discussing the impeccable cinematography which one could best describe as being ‘David-Fincher-esque’. Fincher’s visual style has, of course, been riffed on time and time again, and yet here in Tether the aesthetic could not feel more apt and better executed. The compositions are always perfectly balanced, and the lens-work couldn’t be crisper. The clean, locked-down, wide-aperture look is complemented by a flawless colour grade and professional lighting, making this a real feast for the eyes.

Every review of this film should really be paying some mention to the sound, which, you could easily argue, is the most wholly successful aspect of the filmmaking. Not to suggest that other aspects aren’t completely technically sound (they’re outstanding), yet the audio is something quite award-worthy. Not only is the on-location dialogue well-recorded, but the implementation of foley and music is seamless. The audience will find themselves utterly immersed in every location due to its phenomenal capturing on the part of the sound and visual teams.

And finally, attention must be paid to the performances which are successful throughout. These are actors who know what they’re doing; who can command both the camera and the viewer’s engagement in equal measure. Nick Giedris manages to effectively portray a character whose life is consumed by his anger. Realistically, we see a victim of a tragedy who acts as a real person would act, not saintly and accepting but broken and confused. On the other side of the coin, Benjamin Burton surprisingly brings a lot of the heart to the film despite at first being seen as the villain of thoughts. This can be attributed to the fantastic direction and writing as well as the stunningly vulnerable performance from Burton. All other cast-members also stand out by giving some wonderfully grounded performances.

Tether is a film which could not possibly look, or sound, better than it does. What we have here is a beautifully refined object from a formal standpoint. Where you come down on the story and the characters will depend on the viewer, but what the screenplay, performances and scene-direction offer the audience is a complex and well-balanced piece of drama about learning to live surrounded by tragedy. Like all good movies, every element is operating together in tandem to serve the overall narrative – it is a deeply impactful tale due to every department fulfilling their artistic ambitions. A strong and affecting work, no question.