How to Watch the Letter Room

There's nothing like the thrill of peering into someone else's private life. That's what Richard (Oscar Isaac) gets from the letters he reads in the letter room of a prison.

Oscar-nominated director Elvira Lind explores this side of the incarceration system in her 32-minute short, The Letter Room. She aims to highlight how dehumanizing and unfair the entire process can be.

Storyline

If there is one thing I love about watching a film, it’s being able to see into the lives of people. So, it’s no surprise that Elvira Lind’s short The Letter Room is a must-see for me.

A kind-hearted prison officer is transferred to the letter room of a prison where he gets involved in the personal affairs of a prisoner. The film is a sweet and heart-warming story that touches on the importance of privacy and dehumanization.

Oscar Isaac is perfectly cast in this film as Richard, a kindly and gentle-hearted prison officer who works hard to build trust with his inmates. He has big plans to rehabilitate violent offenders but his hopes are dashed when the warden tells him he’s being promoted to Director of Communications, which in reality is nothing more than a fancy title that means he’s responsible for screening letters received by inmates.

His job entails censoring the content of the letters, which means he has to screen for things like dangerous or smuggled-in substances. The letters are often the only form of communication between inmates and their loved ones.

The Letter Room is a short film that touches on some really interesting issues - from the idea of privacy to dehumanization and what it means to be loved. There is a lot to enjoy about this film, and the writing is top-notch in the parts that focus on Richard’s personal life.

It’s a nice little short that bears witness to the power of “show, don’t tell”. The characters and their backstories are relatable and the film feels a bit long at 33 minutes, but it doesn’t stop it from being a good movie.

The Letter Room is the first feature film from married couple Oscar Isaac and Elvira Lind’s production company Mad Gene Media. The film competed at a long list of international festivals and was released on TV and iTunes. It’s an important and thought-provoking short that will surely open up discussions about the prison system. It’s also an award contender that’s nominated for the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Cast & Crew

Oscar Isaac, star of Ex Machina and Inside Llewyn Davis, stars in the Oscar-nominated short film The Letter Room. Directed by Elvira Lind, it is the first scripted film for her Mad Gene Media production company.

The Letter Room is a wry and poignant examination of one particular part of our country’s incarceration system. It also touches on the broader theme of dehumanization, while shedding light on what it means to be loved.

A corrections officer is transferred to the prison’s letter room, and he finds himself enmeshed in the deeply private lives of his prisoners. He is especially drawn to a series of letters written by an inmate on death row, who is desperate for his love and assurances that he will live again.

Director Elvira Lind has worked in the documentary film industry for the past decade, but The Letter Room marks her directorial debut in a narrative short film. Despite the short’s length, it’s an enjoyable watch and the performances by Oscar Isaac and Alia Shawkat are top-notch.

As for the script, it’s a surprisingly effective one. It’s not afraid to look at the glaring issues in the incarceration system, exposing how unfair it is.

Isaac’s character Richard is a lonely and well-meaning prison guard who is assigned the job of reading and censoring the letters sent by inmates. It’s a menial task, but it keeps him busy and out of trouble, and in turn, it makes him feel less alone.

When he reads the letters from a woman named Rosita, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her writing. He soon discovers that her letters are addressed to Cris, an intimidating inmate who is on death row and is not particularly verbal.

He begins to read their letters out loud to himself, and as he does so, he becomes more and more invested in their story. He soon feels compelled to find out what happened to her and her family, even as he becomes more concerned about his own safety.

The Letter Room is a beautifully made short that highlights the importance of communication in prisons and how it can be abused by those in charge. It’s an important reminder that we must make our incarceration system more fair, while ensuring that inmates have the ability to communicate with their families and loved ones.

Rating

The letter room is a beautifully simple word game with over 370 different puzzles to test your knowledge. Each puzzle gives you a hint and a set of letters that will help you form the answer. The game is free to play and has no advertising or in-app purchases. It's a perfect addition to your daily routine, especially if you're looking for something fun and easy to do at work or at home.

The letter room tells the story of Richard, a corrections officer who has been transferred to a prison. He's a gentle and compassionate person who is trying to build trust and rapport with the inmates. He has big ideas about rehabilitating violent offenders.

But when he's transferred to the prison's communications department, Richard learns that his duties are to go through every piece of mail that comes into the prison and scan it for threats or dangerous content. The menial task seems pointless and boring, but for Richard, it's a chance to see the private lives of inmates.

Oscar Isaac plays Richard as a kindhearted person who loves to talk with the inmates, trying to bring them closer to him and helping them feel loved again. But when he gets assigned to the letter room, he starts getting involved in the lives of the inmates too much.

He is enamored by the letters that come into the prison and finds it difficult to ignore them. One of his inmates is Jackson (John Douglas Thompson), who has not heard from his daughter for years and begs Richard to check the system for her mail.

Cris (Brian Petsos) is another inmate who wants Richard to look into his mail. He thinks that the director of communication has been withholding his letters for some time and Cris is worried about his fate.

The film's message is that the letters are the only thing some inmates have to share with their families while incarcerated and they are often a lifeline for them. But the dehumanising nature of a prison environment is also highlighted by Richard's attempts at illegally reading the letters that are addressed to the inmates.

Trailer

Oscar Isaac stars in the letter room, a dark comedy about a lowly prison officer who finds himself involved with a prisoner's private letters. The resulting film is a clever and well-made short that's sure to earn a place in your viewing queue.

The letter room is a 33-minute short that takes us into the heart of the American criminal justice system. The premise is that an empathetic corrections officer gets transferred into the prison's communications department, where he learns about his inmates' secret lives via their mail.

Director Elvira Lind (Bobbi Jene, Songs for Alexis) helms this brief but impressive piece of cinematic real estate. It's the first project from her new multimedia production company Mad Gene Media and is a worthy addition to the award-worthy list.

Despite its modest budget, the movie makes a big impact with some nice animation and an engaging storyline that's sure to stick with you long after it's over. It's also a surprisingly smart movie for its modest length, a rarity in the world of short films.

While it's a shame that the short movie didn't last longer, it is a worthwhile watch for its one-liners and clever storytelling. Its best feature is perhaps its homage to the power of communication via the written word, which makes it the film's most memorable moment.

The letter room is not only a fun film to watch, but also a great way to learn more about the prison system and its impacts on the human population. It also has a few notable gimmicks to its credit, such as the best use of the letter-sized IMAX format in a movie about the art of writing letters to inmates. Ultimately, The Letter Room is an entertaining piece of cinema that deserves to be seen by the entire family. It's the perfect way to spend your free time this Easter weekend. So, check it out for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments!