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!

This was a surreal experience. One of the most amazing cinematic experiences I have ever went through. This film is beautiful, and will have you on the bitterest sweetest tears of pain and joy.

This is a proof that the Academy Awards is full of crap. It's not just academy-nomination worthy, but multi-academy-winning worthy.

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.

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!

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.