Woman of the House

The director William Samson and writer Barbara Spevack come together to showcase the social structure of society in the 1950’s and how people were very hesitant to move on to change during the time through the character arcs of David Hamilt on(Gerard Rogan) and Lucy Carlisle(Barbara Spevack).

The plot of Woman of the House revolves around a door-to- door salesman from the 1950’s who has difficulty talking to an independent and confident lady.

The film opens with a long shot of the room as the camera pans in from the black screen to show David Hamilton getting ready with a slightly humorous background sound to quickly pick up pace of the narrative to establish the subject matter of Woman of the House. The makers of the cinematic piece have carefully constructed conversation between David Hamilton and Lucy Carlisle representing the mindset of each character involved allowing viewers an opportunity to understand both of them and get the freedom to interpret the creative piece as they want to. The cinematographer utilises a series of tracking shots to follow the salesman to provide the details of his day-to-day routine to increase the degree of audience engagement with content especially when the running time is approximately just 3 minutes. The set design, the white and brown colour pallet, natural lighting, camera angles, dialogue, costume, hair, makeup, and props complement perfectly the era of the 1950’s, therefore, it elevates the mood and experience of the viewers after they have finished watching it.

In terms of performance, Gerard Rogan plays David Hamilton who strongly believes in the patriarchal ideas practiced by the community and happily follows the same without questioning it or being open to any sort of change that could be the very first steps towards various new developments essential for the well-being of the people around. Rogan with his body language, voice modulation, costume, eyes, and facial expressions subtly exudes the mindset of male dominance but the actor manages to keep the viewers gripped to the movie up until the climax thus allowing the audience to learn from Hamilton.

Barbara Spevack plays Lucy Carlisle portraying a very contrasting viewpoint adding multiple layers to the independent lady adding the elements of realism making it relatable as this strong female protagonist tends to stay with them because the viewers want to enjoy such a progressive and inspiring character from the timeline the movie is set in.

Woman of the House celebrates womanhood and also talks about the importance of roles females play in the house, and society affecting the long-term growth of the young generation as well as the set timetable brought in by a strong, talented, independent woman with a modern outlook can give her friends and family lots of love, respect, and positivity to give several reasons to live life and make it better every day. The short film reiterates the fact that change is the only constant and so men should be supportive of the fight woman are trying to win to get some sort of equality in society instead of being fussy and sticking to the old rules.

To Conclude, I want to appreciate William Samson and Barbara Spevack to introduce us to an interesting topic as I feel we need to be aware of how people lived in the past as compared to the present times.