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“Warning!!! Pedophile Released” takes a thought-provoking idea and the potential for an exceptional, engaging love story and buries them under a soundtrack of assorted genres, devastatingly love scenes of nothingness and graphic images, some of which and profound and poignant, others that are futile. With this film there was a tremendous opportunity to engage viewers in a striking love story about two people torn apart by external forces that do not understand them, and at the same time engage them in questions they may not otherwise entertain. Instead, the story and the communication dissolve in a clamor of voids.
“Warning!!!” introduces us to Echo, who at twelve years old is in a romantic, non-sexual relationship with an 18-year-old boy named Malachi. When Malachi is sent to prison for molestation Echo finds herself in a long state of devastating loneliness. At fifteen, while walking home through a desolate area, Echo is brutally raped by two men, which leads to her getting pregnant and exiled from home. With nowhere to go Echo turns to a life of prostitution, further begging the question of whether or not she would have been safer with her accused offender free and taking care of her? All the while Echo continues to wait for Malachi, who is released after six years of imprisonment.
In many ways the director Shane Ryan (who also portrays Malachi) uses minimalism constructively and to stirring affects. The gruesome rape scene is a good example of simplicity evoking an internal uproar of awareness. The camera focuses mainly on Echo’s face and her blood, and the scenes of her rape intertwine with scenes of the initial aftermath, but we never see the faces of the rapists and we never hear her cries, which we are understand are of mental and physical agony. The anguish comes off as truthful and strikes right at the heart.
Another spring of authenticity could come from the long scenes of silence, of walking, of sitting on swings and underneath trees. By following Echo during the mundane we can understand the sense of depth of her loneliness and longing since her soul-mate was put away. Still, those scenes are way longer than they need to be and will have viewers keeping their thumbs on the forward button throughout the film.
That wasted time could be used to fill up the numerous cracks and holes that are rather puzzling and contribute to a great lack of authenticity. For instances problems stem from lead actors Kai Lanette (who is also one of the writers) and Shane Ryan, who look way too old to play their characters and cannot quite tap into the core of their characters. The plot also suffers, because it is guided by implications that are shapeless and unwarranted. We know knowing about Echo’s home life except that she has a bunny, and thanks to a parched performance by Ron Dale, we know virtually nothing about the father that throws her out. The progression does not seem realistic. And, while we could be tapping into the minds and souls of Echo and Malachi, growing an understanding of their relationship, confronting social issues, we are tackled with pointless characters (Stephen and his sisters), broken musical storytelling and whirls of imposing impressions.
Sanela Djokovic is a writer living in the Bronx
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