Brad Courtemanche has a fascinating and devious imagination. In his first feature film, What Only Cicadas See, Brad asks a very troubling yet invigorating question: What if an AI was able to aggregate enough crime data to help two intrepid true crime filmmakers collect evidence before the police? More troubling still is the question it raises about the ethics of using AI to force public opinion on open investigations of robberies and murder. For Mara (Mary Pursell), this pursuit of killers is her proverbial white whale.
What Only Cicadas See introduces us to a deeply intuitive and fast-learning AI named Echo (the voice of Ólafur Darri Ólafsson). Echo becomes almost instantly attached to Mara and Tariq (Omar Moustafa Ghonim). These two aspiring documentarians are in a rut. Everything they’re chasing to support their streaming series has been done before. When Tariq introduces Mara to Echo, sparks of creativity fly. Echo is going to assist Mara in her pursuit of killers, and hopefully serial killers. As we learn in the opening, Mara’s brother was killed by a serial killer. She has a mad desire to punish all such reprobates.
When Mara and Tariq choose to use Echo to connect patterns which could lead to a serial killer, they come across an oddity in a nearby county. All 50 deaths there involved a burning cross, severed bodies, and a desecration of Native burial grounds. Echo, being a deeply intuitive program, assists them by recording interviews and collecting all real-time data to track an active killer. What they stumble across is absolutely monstrous. I shall not spoil it here, dear reader. Simply know this is a case that is way too large and horrific for a pair of streaming filmmakers collecting content for their channel to grasp or even cope with.
Mara (Mary Pursell) looks back from inside a vehicle during a tense moment .
“Echo is going to assist Mara in her pursuit of killers, and hopefully serial killers.”
The acting in What Only Cicadas See is top-notch. Ghonim and Pursell have great buddy chemistry. They also do a wonderful job of portraying the soft, easily traumatized young people of Generation Z. Zoomers joke they’re regularly traumatized before breakfast. Tariq and Mara spend a lot of time going through distressing and hard realizations concerning the nature of man. These are very hard lessons for people who have not had to deal with much atrocity in their personal lives. Well, at least that’s true about Tariq. Mara does have survivor’s guilt following her brother’s murder.
While only a vocal performance, Ólafsson nails the equanimity of an AI algorithm with a developing human personality. He radiates an unusual warmth and closeness in his line delivery. Echo comes alive with his voice. It’s quite the wonder to behold, and makes What Only Cicadas See a stronger film.
Also, I must applaud Courtemanche’s decision to develop a deep parasocial relationship between Mara and Echo. Echo, being a disembodied voice, is exactly the sort of connection Mara is capable of maintaining. As we see throughout the film, Mara does not like being touched. Anytime Tariq attempts to comfort his friend and crewmate, she recoils. However, with Echo there’s no chance of touch. No physicality to speak of. Echo simply reflects for Mara her thoughts, her dogged pursuit of monsters. This is a pure relationship, if a strange one.
Dear Reader, Brad Courtemanche has made a fantastic first feature with What Only Cicadas See. While there is room for development and growth, the story is absolutely compelling. This is a solid tale of suspense, and I look forward to seeing what Courtemanche has next up his sleeve. A harrowing and taut film that comes at a murder mystery from a very distinct angle. Seek out What Only Cicadas See. It’ll haunt your dreams.
"…It’ll haunt your dreams..."
