CONTEMPLATING SILENCE IN WRITER-DIRECTOR RON LAGMAN'S COMMITTED >>>

Throughout a career that straddled both the silent and talkie eras, Hitchcock strove for what he called "pure cinema" - revealing a character's interior life by means of visuals only. Tales of suspense intrigued him precisely because that genre deals with secrets, hidden motives and deceit, and only his "pure" camera could show the light of truth. We as viewers play an active part in this unraveling, forced to put the puzzle pieces (i.e. edited images) together before time runs out.

Tacoma's Ron Lagman nears completion of his film Tapat Sa Pangako (Committed), and though it doesn't fit as a Hitchcockian mystery, I still feel like a detective as I watch. The writer-director provides no dialogue, none of that exposition to spell (spill) out the story. Composer Kevin Rolstad's subtly expressive piano score is the only thing doing any talking in this silent movie.

I have to fill in the blanks based only on what I see. I collect shots like pieces of evidence, never knowing what information matters and what I can discard: Catholic icons clutters a tabletop,  a woman (Melinda Morreaux) slices fruit with a knife (Why does this moment make me a little uneasy?), a man (Rick Walters) exercises, while a black cat rests easy on a couch. For the first half of Committed I hover in limbo, filled with too many questions.

Answers slowly trickle in. Man and woman are husband and wife, and wife has made them a romantic dinner. Then the plot twist arrives, like a slap in my face. I've watched closely, looking for the clues, but still I didn't see THAT coming. Then a second jolt to my senses, a punch in the gut, and at that point I realize a talented storyteller has me in his powerful grip. Lagman handles the visuals of Committed with an intelligence that would probably do ol' Hitch proud.

Hear my interview with Ron Lagman this week on Volcano Radio, which airs Thursday from 8-9 p.m. on www.nwczradio.com and is available as a podcast at weeklyvolcano.com directly following.