#NewsBytesRecommends: '1500 Words' on YouTube—ode to love, longing, loss
Andrew Chaplin's 1500 Words is architected on an extremely intriguing and experimental premise; it is the kind of story you think you would have read in a book in your school library. At under nine minutes long, this short film—streaming on Omeleto's channel on YouTube—is drenched with emotions of despair, torment, longing, love, and, most importantly, the art and ache of letting go.
This is what happens in '1500 Words'
The short begins with an unusual premise: what if, instead of years, your life is weighed in words? Stanley's (Marcus Garvey) doctor tells him that he's left with only 1,500 words, and once he uses them all, he'll die. This, naturally, burns a hole through his heart—he doesn't even have enough words to tell his wife about the tragedy that has wrecked their lives.
Stanley goes through his version of 5 stages of grief
When the doctor shares his diagnosis, Stanley undergoes five stages: anger, despair, terrible thirst, a half-hearted suicide attempt, and finally, quiet resignation. These stages foreshadow everything he goes through in the short. This is, obviously, a parallel to the five stages of grief, including denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, and Chaplin seems to convey that Stanley's diagnosis is already akin to his death.
Dark humor ensures it's not melodramatic
Even though there is a heartache-shaped hollowness at the center of 1500 Words, it doesn't stop it from channeling its macabre humor, sprinkled aplenty in several places. For instance, Stanley's reaction elicits both pity and chuckles as we see how his rage leads him to use all his words but 47 in the clinic. "F*ck" and "Thank you, doctor" are the words he spends!
Speaks about relationships, need to preserve them
Despite its brief runtime, there's so much that 1500 Words says about relationships, love, and life. Silence speaks louder than words, yes, but at times, it can also be a double-edged sword when it drives wedges between relationships and becomes the third compatriot between a couple. It also underlines the necessity of measuring your words and instead being a better listener for a change.
Significance, larger meaning of Stanley's stopwatch
The doctor hands Stanley a small ticker watch that keeps track of each word he expends, and it's like a ticking bomb, an albatross around his neck. The ticker won't ever explode and swallow Stanely whole, but the tight tension on the screen makes us feel so; each time the remaining words in the ticker go down, Stanley's isn't the only heart that ruptures.
Check this out today!
1500 Words might be shorter than your average YouTube video, but that doesn't take away anything from its merit. Instead, it leverages this timespan to mold momentum, pace, and tension. Teeming with universal emotions that are never diluted, 1500 Words is poetic, melancholic, gorgeous, and heartbreaking all at once. An ode to love, but also to moving on, it's a haunting reminder of mortality.
