What does it all mean? "Opal" by Jack Stauber(Analysis)

What Is Opal?

 Opal Is a disturbing short film directed by Jack Stauber that presents the effects of child neglect. It is an exceptional film about a girl called Opal. She explores a house across the street from her. Which she has been told not to enter. Inside, she finds disturbing inhabitants who bear an uncanny resemblance to her family members. These beings explain their fears and motivations in song.

In the end, it seems that the girl Opal was mistaken for, (Claire) is her. Claire has been hiding behind her delusion to cope with having an extremely neglectful family. Claire is just a girl who wants to be seen metaphorically and literally.

 

Deep Dive

There are clues of delusion in the beginning. Some might be the billboard lights on top of the fake family. While she looks at the top room for the first time, heavenly music plays. This could be because Claire thinks of her room as a safe haven. Where she can hide from the terror. In addition, the lights turn off once she enters the “other house”. This might represent a switch back to her unfortunate reality.

There has always been an emphasis on sight. This is presented with all three parental figures lacking vision. The grandfather is blind, The father is too focused on himself to see anything else, and the mother is too drunk and high to recognize her own daughter. They are all blinded by their own problems but don’t want to solve the real ones. Examples of this might be how unhealthy the grandfather is but keeps feeding the problem. The father is narcissistic and nit pics himself until he eventually destroys himself. Finally, the mother thinks of herself as the victim. She relies on her daughter emotionally when it’s supposed to be the other way around. The mother compares herself to her daughter saying, “I’m just as powerless as you”. All of this affects the girl extremely. In the end, she runs up to her room.  One last montage is shown. This shows the function she serves for her family members.

Her Grandfather’s eyes

Father's refection

(uses Claire as someone to talk to about himself)

Mother's Pills

(relies on Claire just like the pills that she’s addicted to)

Claire returns to her fantasy as the billboard lights are covered by hamburgers and the camera pans outside the house. A girl just wanting to be seen. To be loved.