Despite parallels with appalling real-life news stories, Set Me Free is neither a thriller nor a film about crime and/or captivity. If you've seen the trailer then you'll understand that there's more to this film than meets the eye anyway due to it's bizarre storytelling. Instead, it's a clever film about how the human spirit may transcend physical boundaries, and the disparity between external and internal freedom through the eyes of Lauren, our protagonist. Asche and Spencer's music for the film emphasises the gentle domesticity, rather than the shrieking claustrophobia, of Lauren's circumstances, later giving way to sustained ambient chimes that lend an unearthly edge to our own alien world. There's something very "Lovely Bones" about it as it is charming, eloquent and dark when it needs to be. As for the performances, only a couple of characters did not match the stronger actors during the scenes, but Nina Taylor is nothing short of perfect as the strange girl around whom this trembling universe revolves. Smith has the intelligence to trust his cast to show us the world in a different perspective.
This is something special. Don't ignore it. Especially the follow-up second chapter.
