The Ocularist (Formby, 2013) is about the profession of ocularistry. The film is made in a documentary style featuring an ocularist by the name of John Pacey Lowrie. The profession of ocularistry is not as well known as some other medical areas; it aims to provide custom-made ocular (eye)prosthetics to patients who need them. For these people, ocularistry is a very big part of their lives.As an ocularist, John improves the lives of his patients with his unique perspective, dedication, and high professional skills. Ocularistry is not only a profession or passion of John’s; he was in need of similar help when he was young. The film interviews many former and present patients of John to talk about their experience with him. From their responses, the viewers can see how much John’s work has helped them with their challenges. The relationship between the patients and John is also transformed from a pure professional one to a deeper and personal one. They do not only see him as their ocularist, but also a friend, or maybe even family.
Although the film touches on a relatively small and specific topic, the main message of the film can resonate with a grander picture. The idea is to show how important smaller roles in society are and how they affect people in the most sincere ways. The film features patients of John sharing their feelings and experiences. The very first thing that grabs people’s attention is the happiness that they all share; the happiness that they emit is so strong that one can almost taste it. There is absolutely nothing fake about it. This happiness is most visible when the patients explain how the new prosthetic eye turns their lives around. Because people have compassion for other people, by filming people who have lived through this and by letting them tell their stories, Formby maximizes the feeling of hope and compassion.
A large portion of the film is devoted to a patient of John whose name is Dylan. Dylan is a young boy whose right eye didn’t properly develop. The scene that I love the most is when Dylan’s mom talks about her son’s experience with John. When she talks about her fear of Dylan being bullied in school due to his eye condition, I can really relate to her effort of trying to protect her little boy. There is nothing a mother wouldn’t do to protect her young, but with Dylan’s previous condition, there is hardly anything she can do; the helplessness is clearly shown in the film. Luckily, John was there to save the day; not only did he prevent a boy from getting bullied, he actually brought out more optimism in Dylan. According to his mother, Dylan even takes his prosthetic eye out to joke around sometimes, which speaks to his newfound comfort with his situation. From his mother’s monologue, the film cuts to a scene where Dylan laughs and plays around in John’s lab while John is working. This is a great device to show how John has changed the boy’s life through a well-designed and -made prosthetic eye.
John connects with his patients both professionally and emotionally; indeed, the art of ocularistry really becomes an art in John’s case. This may have something to do with the fact that John went through the same procedure himself, but there is no doubt that all ocularists, or maybe even all professions, should “see” John at work in Formby’s engaging film.
The Ocularist is available for free on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNUo76bjmpY
Author Biography
Junyang ZHAO recently graduated with a BA from the University of Alberta, where he majored in film studies and minored in philosophy. He has the deepest passion for both theoretical film studies and practical film production. And his motto is: “Responsibility is the foundation of all.”
Film Details
The Ocularist (2013)
United Kingdom
Director Philip Formby
Runtime 19 minutes 30 seconds
To read an interview with the director of The Ocularist, Philip Formby, please click on this link: https://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/2014/06/23/interview-with-philip-formby-director-of-the-ocularist-2013-by-junyang-zhao/
