What?

Do you want a window into what it's like to be a Deaf actor in Hollywood? Ever wonder why there are so few films and shows with Deaf characters? This movie explains it all in a great, comedic way. It pays a lot of homage to Buster Keaton and silent films --- which is so brilliantly suited to Deaf communication anyhow. Obviously made on a shoestring budget, but full of warmth and humanity and a culture most of us don't even know is there. And a story about how Deaf people are treated in Hollywood is really a metaphor for how all disabled folks and Others tend to be treated in America. So you might just learn something!

What? Is a great example of how small, independent films can be innovative and surprise you. It's a relatively.straightforward (sometimes very straightforward) depiction of discrimination in hollywood, but is heartfelt and inclusive for its audience - looking to bring you along and empathize with its characters while it shows the unending array of challenges, slights, and outright prejudice facing its protagonist.

The film is all the more interesting both for its background - the film's producer's, it's leading actor, and a number of cast and crew are deaf - and for the fun it has evoking a silent era film, with a decidedly more modern injection of style and humor.

The film was developed and shot with a small budget, which is readily apparent from its choices of location and limitations in its scope. But it's never anything but interesting, funny, and engaging, on a topic that could use more discussion in the arts. Highly recommended.

What? Is a remarkable film. It is supremely entertaining, funny, and thoughtful, but it is also brilliant cinema. I make a point of calling this movie "cinema" because director Alek Lev has made a love letter to Hollywood's silent era while keeping it contemporary, fresh and entertaining. There is not one filmmaking element that the makers of "What?" did not use the fullest degree; cinematography, soundtrack, production design, and of course the brilliant acting.

And there's one more thing. What? Conveys a sober yet heartening message of inclusion for the deaf community, but it is so entertaining that it isn't a message movie. It's cinema at its best!

A literary investment -- Deaf produced, directed, acted ... An experience in Language and storytelling for deaf and hearing alike.

Styled upon the Charlie Chaplin-esque silent film .. Slapstick, Ironic, Hyperbolic ... and relevant.

Fully Accessible

A story about trying to break thru the glass ceiling as a deaf performer .. Which means doing what you can to appeal to a hearing majority .. Touchy stuff for some Deaf.

Ableist motifs, but the characters describe the phenomenon as part of their arc.

Can appear "slow" to both deaf and hearing audiences due to stylistic choices and certain cultural compromises in viewing.

Altogether a film that can be enjoyed by "in" and "out" group viewers, worth purchasing and sure to gain recognition for Deaf Talent in performance.

Do. Not. Waste. Your. Time. Nor. Your. Money. Watching. This. Movie.

I know a couple of deaf people and they have expressed that this movie does not apply to their "silent" life. Next time make a more relevant movie to the deaf culture.