The Inaudible Speech

‘The Inaudible Speech’ is a strange film in that whether it should be classified as such is a question unto itself. The two minute runtime - less than two minutes when you minus the opening, which asks ‘can you hear his voice amidst the noise?’ - is not the issue in this debate. If it can be described as a film then it is most definitely a short film. Moreover, the reason this critic finds it difficult to distinguish ‘The Inaudible Speech’ as a film is that it appears as more of an acting audition tape than a film itself.

It’s a short that clearly intends to spotlight the acting ability of Achyut Prashast Singh - who stars, directs and writes - yet it inexplicably fails to do that through some serious limitations in the screenplay. Instead, it comes across as simply an audition tape, with the actor merely proving that they can read lines, or perhaps a simple table read of a script. Indeed at times so much is this the case that it feels as though somebody’s speaking language exam has been recorded in an attempt to be stylistic.

Singh reads, direct from the script, how he has lost his interest in studying. He hasn’t lost interest for any particular reason, simply where he used to love studying it now only brings boredom and feels like a chore. He details how this caused failures in class and backlash from his parents, before deciding to grow a pair and become proactive in his studying again, though now instead of studying out of enjoyment, he only studies for the prospect of a profitable career. This sounds like he’s going through some stuff - though such a flux is something everybody experiences on numerous occasions throughout their lives - but why should we care.

Singh’s script doesn’t give us any reason to care about his turgid state of studying, and his sudden change of mindset. It’s essentially a monologue that allows no room for emotion, with its monotonous delivery reflected by the lack of drama in the speech which he is saying. Directing is little better, with only a few cuts - which are jarring - to suggest even the remotest sign of technical flair. Hence the film feels like an audition tape, with little technical skill involved, only it isn’t a script that enhances Singh’s performance, and instead only flattens it. 



The title suggests perhaps a hidden meaning within his speech. Perhaps some repressed emotion. Yet there is no subtext to suggest that ‘The Inaudible Speech’ has anything to say beyond its surface level frustrations over studying and a lack of motivation. Sure, occasionally the background noise threatens to render the speech inaudible, but you cannot stage your entire film around this one possibility and expect to engage people effectively.

‘The Inaudible Speech’ is a film, or audition tape, or English language speaking exam, that is devoid of passion, creativity, and filmmaking skill. The flatness of the film extends to acting, writing and directing, with an incredibly dull conceit that somehow was never questioned by the filmmaker during the process of making ‘The Inaudible Speech’. It defies logic, in the worst possible ways.