A Million Eyes (2019)

Richard Raymond’s short A Million Eyes is a beautifully realised film about finding beauty and hope in the most troubled and broken places. Starring 13 year old Elijah M. Cooper as Leroy in his debut film role, the film charts his struggle to navigate the often ugly, imperfect world around him by using photography as a means to find clarity, beauty and truth. Katie Lowes stuns in her role as Leroy’s loving yet troubled mother, playing the role with empathy, battling to stop her demons overcoming her pride in her son.

Navigating his adolescence as the son of an alcoholic single mother, Leroy seeks to find moments of beauty and stillness in his difficult life, exploring his run-down neighbourhood with a broken camera, taking imaginary pictures. As he meets and develops his relationship with Fern, an older photographer in his neighbourhood, played by Joe Morton, the film speaks to themes about mentorship and the importance of nurturing youthful curiosity as a means to finding truth and clarity.

Just as he finds moments of beauty in the seemingly dilapidated, imperfect world around him, so there are moments of beauty in Leroy’s own life, and he is able to begin to understand these through his photography, particularly his relationship with his mother. The viewer’s heart breaks for Leroy and his mother, and yet Raymond bewitches the audience with a sense of optimism and hope, with Amber’s pride in her son’s ability and her real desire to change in order to create an environment in which he can pursue his ambitions.

The character relationships created in the short space of time are the real highlight of the film, and while the plot never feels disjointed, there are perhaps moments when big plot events feel slightly jarring, more a means of moving the plot along than essential to the film, which nears perfection in the slower moments. Raymond creates multi-dimensional characters with flaws and struggles, yet also ambitions and hopes. With skilled, nuanced performances from the actors, Raymond captures complex and imperfect relationships, in contrast to the black and white photographs taken in the film.