Highrise - Gabrielle Russell

Watched High-rise by Gabrielle Russell, it's a very interesting short film. First impressions I'd say the film theme is poverty and desperation. It shows a mother and her baby living in a small claustrophobic space. from the very start the expressions of the mother show resentment towards her baby as she watches a game show on the tv, a connection can be made between the two here, the mother feels as though the baby is holding her back in life and because of this she resents her responsibility.
In the next few minutes the Gurgling sounds of the baby and the sounds from the tv get louder and louder, at the same time the shots get closer and closer towards the womans face - this is probably to represent her annoyance at the situation and also to show her confusion with everything thats going on around her. eventually the baby throws its doll, that lands on the sill of an open window. when the baby moves toward the window to retrieve the doll the mother does nothing at first. then she suddenly moves, falling to the floor and knocking over the babies milk bottle. for a moment the shot is focused on the milk bottle as it slowly drips milk to the floor. i believe there is something in this shot that is extremely relevant to the story, maybe the milk bottle represents the mother in some way, i have not managed to work it out. Then in the most shocking part of the film the mother gets up and leaves the room. shutting the door behind her she waits in the hall. i think this is the part of the film that would get the biggest emotional response from an audience - and the response would be disbelief that a mother would put her baby in that much danger. This is the point that shows desperation, the mother is so desperate, for either money or just a way out that she is willing to let her child die!! everything goes quiet, then a babies scream is heard and the mother rushes back inside the room to find her baby on the sofa playing with a different toy (emotional response - relief). the mother moves to the window and looks out to see the doll smashed on the pavement below, this shot simply represents the severity of the situation and the real danger the baby was in.
I found this film extremely powerful, in the way it uses shots and sound to convey emotion. the game show represents her longing and her poverty. it was definitely successful in extracting an emotional response from the audience.