In many ways, Retreat has been a long time coming, with reports of it being shot back in 2020. Its origins go back further with writer and director Ted Evans’ short film of the same name in 2013, though only the setting is retained (an isolated community focused on supporting deaf people) with the storyline of an intruder to the retreat (here called Chilmark) being abandoned entirely. Indeed, it is reversed as we follow two residents at the retreat, Eva (Anna Zander) and Matt (James Boyle). Eva arrives at Chilmark from Germany having only joined the deaf community a few years ago and quickly connects with Matt, who was born deaf and has been at Chilmark since he was four years old.
Just through these two characters alone, the film already shows a variety of deaf representation that mainstream media has largely failed to do. Having a deaf creator at the heart of the story immediately benefits it, especially when considering Evans’ previous work. His shorts, The End and BAFTA longlisted To Know Him, demonstrated his skill at depicting the difficulties deaf people experience in a world not built for them, with the former having Rose Ayling-Ellis in the cast whose BBC documentary Signs of Change was also directed by Evans. Retreat continues Evans’ desire to inform by opening with a series of photos showing children receiving ‘treatment’ for deafness across the years, involving restrictive equipment and apparent physical punishment, simply and effectively showing the world that Chilmark is retreating from.
While certain story beats may seem somewhat predictable, it is not enough to take away how this is a film as important as it is entertaining that deserves as big an audience as possible.
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Rather than simply delivering a message of acceptance, Retreat raises complex questions about the retreat and how beneficial its practices are. Mia (played by Sophie Stone who starred in the original short), who runs Chilmark, veers between compassionate carer and cult leader, firmly rejecting deaf as a term since ‘they gave it to us’ but provides no alternative, instead encouraging residents to be who they are and take ownership of their individuality: ‘We don’t allow anyone’s perceptions to influence who we are. Or who we could become.’ Phrases about ‘our people’, ‘motherland’, being ‘one of us’ are used throughout and Stone brilliantly strikes the balance of highlighting the loaded quality of these phrases without making Mia seem dictatorial.
Her performance is symptomatic of the film’s tone as a whole mixing familiar tropes with new forms of cinematic language, particularly when it centres on Matt’s perspective. He is both an insider and outsider, part of the deaf community but considered an outsider for not having the trauma of having outside experience like others in the retreat. While Matt’s story dramatizes a genuine divide in the deaf community between those born deaf and those who become deaf in later life, he also goes on his own individual journey in being faced with this reality for the first time. Having only seen hearing people in movies, Matt being forced to recognise that there is a world outside of Chilmark drives the latter half of the film and pushes the story in some interesting directions.
While certain story beats may seem somewhat predictable, it is not enough to take away how this is a film as important as it is entertaining that deserves as big an audience as possible. With the entire cast using Sign Language (predominately British though Eva also uses German Sign Language), certain framing is required to capture what is primarily a visual language (even with subtitles) but Evans uses this requirement to lean into inventiveness such as his striking use of silhouettes. With a cast made of familiar collaborators (including Brian Duffy, who stands out despite having a relatively minor role) and emerging talent, Evans has created a film that confidently tackles complex themes about fear as a means of control and what it means to have a ‘better life’ and hopefully establishes him as a significant filmmaker who can open the door for more intelligent, memorable disabled film-making in the future.
RETREAT PLAYED AT AMSTERDAM’S IMAGINE FILM FESTIVAL 2025
