''A Silent Agreement'' is a 2017 Australian romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Davo Hardy. It was the first theatrically released, cinematic film to feature

Auslan Auslan (; an abbreviation of Australian Sign Language) is the sign language used by the majority of the Australian Deaf community. Auslan is related to British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL); the three have descended f ...

( Australian Sign Language) as both a main language of the film's dialogue, as well as a key plot element in the story. The plot concerns Reuben (played by Davo Hardy), who overcomes a

speech impediment Speech disorders, impairments, or impediments, are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean fluency disorders like stuttering and cluttering. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is co ...

with the use of

, with help from his

profoundly deaf Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spok ...

boyfriend (played by Joshua Sealy). Having built up Reuben's confidence enough to encourage his higher ambitions, Derek contacts an Australian screen legend, Gareth (played by Paul Mercurio) to help

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

Reuben in his burgeoning career. But shortly after seeing the potential in Reuben's autobiographical

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

, Gareth takes over the project for his own gain and sanitizes the story to suit a wider audience, thereby cutting Reuben out of the equation. Forced to draw upon the

courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

and

self-actualization Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest personal aspirational human need in the hierarchy. It represents where one's potential is fully realized after more basic needs, such as for the body and the ego, have been fulfill ...

that he has gathered through the experience, Reuben stands up to his bully and wins the support of those who had once opposed him, for the greater moral good. Davo Hardy has stated in interviews that the film was a response to his film mentors telling him he could not be a director because of his real-life stutter.

Plot

Reuben Heywood is an aspiring writer, who grapples with

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, manifesting as a

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...

, while attempting to build a career as both a writer and actor. When a performance at an amateur theatre showcase goes awry, Reuben is bullied by the troupe leader and a

sign language interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

. Derek Shanahan, a profoundly deaf man from the audience (played by Joshua Sealy) comes to vindicate him and the two form a friendship which quickly turns into a sexual relationship. As Derek and Reuben discuss their mutual ambitions within the arts and

political activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, Reuben discloses his troubled past and the origins of his speech impediment. Derek encourages Reuben to steer his work away from theater and into independent film, offering to support him, where needed. Shortly after, Derek seeks out Reuben's dream mentor, Gareth Donahue (played by Paul Mercurio) to help him bring his story, titled ''The Burden of Being Me'' to the screen. Gareth, meanwhile, has reached a low point in his career. He is over 50, lamenting his lost youth and fading career. Hungry for a chance to make a comeback, Gareth agrees to meet with Reuben and discuss their collaboration on ''The Burden of Being Me''. Derek is also present at the meeting and is quick to point out Gareth's self-obsessed

narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

. but Reuben overlooks his observations, blindsided by the support that Gareth offers. Derek's mother, Faye Shanahan, and sister, Courtney, are deeply protective of Derek and treat Reuben's artistic ambitions with

skepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

. Faye, a painter, discourages Derek's involvement with Reuben's

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, in favor of noble causes to support

deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other ...

and advocating

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

in the footsteps of

Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when ...

. Reuben recognizes the

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

and continues to pursue his film with Derek and Gareth. Almost immediately after receiving the script of ''The Burden of Being Me'', Gareth begins to amend the characters and plot to suit him as both an actor and a producer. His wife, Lillian Donahue, a highly respected

entertainment attorney Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

, is captivated by the screenplay and recognizes Reuben as a talented writer. But Gareth uses his industry expertise and gas-lighting tactics to seize

creative control Artistic control or creative control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, music production, or some other cultural product. A person, or the studio or production company, with artistic control has the authority ...

from Reuben, while also manipulating Lillian to help him, using her long-delayed desire to have children as leverage for

emotional blackmail The term emotional blackmail was popularized by psychotherapist Susan Forward about controlling people in relationships and the theory that fear, obligation and guilt (FOG) are the transactional dynamics at play between the controller and the pe ...

. Obediently, Lillian writes up contracts that highly favor Gareth's interests and leave Reuben empty handed. Immediately conflicted by guilt, Lillian stands idly by, as Gareth pressures Reuben to sign the contracts and grant him 100% of the

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

. When Reuben realizes that he has been swindled, Faye offers to help finance Reuben's next project, effectively giving her blessing for he and Derek to collaborate in the future. This offer is quickly retracted when Reuben accidentally makes a spectacle of himself at Courtney's engagement party and embarrasses the family. Derek sides with Faye, citing that Reuben has acted in appropriately. Reuben is asked to leave the party, at once. Shortly after, Reuben receives an emotional call from Courtney, saying that Derek has suddenly died from an accident. At the funeral, Faye confronts Reuben, imploring him to continue honoring Derek's memory, but also to honor himself. Meanwhile, Lillian reads an article about Reuben's stage play, dedicated to Derek's memory. Gareth's only response is to make sure the stage play has no affiliation with the film he now owns the rights to, or else they'd have to sue. Incensed at Gareth's heartlessness, Lillian lashes out at him and vows to reverse the contracts that she had made for Gareth. Concluding that her chance to have children has passed her by, Lillian abandons Gareth and seeks Reuben out at the theater, where he and Derek met. She encourages him to rewrite his story from scratch and amend key elements, so that Gareth cannot claim

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

. Similarly, Faye reinstates her support of Reuben, around the time of her first

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

since her son's death. One by one, Gareth's collaborators abandon his project and he is left without any supporters at around the time that Reuben develops his new film, ''The Purpose of Being Me''. At the a screening of his film, Reuben thanks the audience for attending, including those who may have originally discouraged him. He thanks them for providing the strength he needed to continue in his pursuits, even if it was only to prove them wrong. As a final thought, Reuben comes to terms with his speech impediment and thanks those who supported his journey, saying "actions speak louder than words."

Cast

* Davo Hardy as Reuben Heywood * Joshua Sealy as Derek Shanahan *

Paul Mercurio Paul Joseph Mercurio (born 31 March 1963) is an Australian actor, choreographer, dancer, TV presenter and politician. Mercurio is best known for his lead role in the 1992 film ''Strictly Ballroom'' and his role as a judge on TV series ''Danci ...

as Gareth Donahue * Sage Godrei as Lillian Donahue * Jennifer Maclaughlan as Courtney Shanahan * Rhonda Rourke as Faye Shanahan

Reception

Premiering in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

, on 28 September 2017, at the height of the

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey by the Australian Government designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the Australia Post, postal service between 12 Septe ...

, the film gained immediate attention for its unapologetic depiction of same-sex relationships without a plot revolving around coming-out,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

or the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

, effectively showing an everyday

slice of life Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...

for a couple who happen to be two men. The film also brought

back into the spotlight. On 11 April 2017, during a live interview for ''The Morning Show'', the hosts

Larry Emdur Larry Emdur (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian Gold Logie award winning television presenter. Emdur is currently co-host of '' The Morning Show'' alongside Kylie Gillies, and host of '' The Chase Australia''. The duo also hosted the A ...

and

Kylie Gillies Kylie Gillies (born 4 May 1967) is an Australian television presenter for the Seven Network, based in Sydney, Australia. Gillies is the co-host of '' The Morning Show'' with Larry Emdur. Career Gillies was born in Tamworth and attended Tamwor ...

attempted to discuss the 25-year anniversary of ''

Strictly Ballroom ''Strictly Ballroom'' is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his '' Red Curtain Trilogy'' of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1 ...

'', but Paul continued to steer the conversation back to ''A Silent Agreement''. He was cast in ''Promised'' a few months later. The film was submitted into many festivals for its use of

, qualifying it as a

foreign language film World cinema is a term in film theory in the United States that refers to films made outside of the Cinema of the United States, American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial Ame ...

. Many LGBT-related festivals and organisations to do with the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

were lauding of ''A Silent Agreement'' for its authentic depictions of deaf characters, using deaf actors. The DVD was released in Australia on 8 December 2018, after its extended festival screenings; including special seminar screenings for its

educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

importance in support of

and

speech pathology Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

streaming service

Dekkoo Dekkoo is a Philadelphia-based subscription streaming service with a focus on LGBT+ related content, particularly by and for gay men. It features a mixture of programs from other sources and original content, and derives its income from subscriptio ...

began to distribute the film from June 2019.

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

released an NTSC DVD in September 2019. From 2022, ''A Silent Agreement'', along with the rest of Davo Hardy's films, were made available on his dedicated streamin
website
www.davohardyfilms.com.

Accolades

References

External links

*
Streaming
at Davo Hardy Films
Official Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silent Agreement 2017 films 2017 romantic drama films 2010s coming-of-age drama films Australian Sign Language Films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age drama films Australian LGBTQ-related films Australian romantic drama films Gay-related films LGBTQ-related films based on actual events LGBTQ-related romantic drama films Films about deaf people 2017 independent films Australian independent films Films set in Sydney Romance films based on actual events Films shot in Sydney Sign-language films 2017 LGBTQ-related films 2010s English-language films 2010s Australian films English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films