The Way We Speak
Written and directed by Ian Ebright
Starring Patrick Fabian, Diana Coconubo, Kailey Rhodes and Ayanna Berkshire
Runtime 1 hour 27 minutes
Releases on digital and VOD July 23

by Shah!, Staff Writer

“Envy is the central fact of American life.” - Gore Vidal 

The Way We Speak is the feature film debut from writer-director Ian Ebright. Described as a “modern cautionary tale”, the film stars Better Call Saul alum Patrick Fabian as an up-and-coming writer and essayist with an unyielding stance on atheism and futurism.

The film starts with the Gore Vidal quote above, and it essentially becomes the central theme of the entire story. I have to be honest, I didn’t know what I was about to experience going into this film. At first, my only hook was Patrick Fabian. I’m familiar with his body of work from Better Call Saul so I knew what to expect from him. The guy’s an incredible performer. I wasn’t aware of writer-director combo Ian Ebright, so I had zero expectations of what the film would look and sound like. But after seeing it, Ian Ebright is a filmmaker I’ll be keeping my eyes on. 

On the surface, The Way We Speak sounds like a typical low-budget indie that has all the quirks and tropes you would find. Underneath its limited interior locations and minimal amount of characters is surprising heartbreak, grief, and growing pain in a non-stop discord about religion, modern society, dogmatic beliefs, and tenets. The main character, Simon (Patrick Fabian), has a personal journey of grief and trauma that deeply affects everything around him. His marriage is at a tipping point as his wife, a renowned doctor, emotionally played by Diana Coconubo, battles stage 4 blood cancer while simultaneously trying to keep Simon in check as his ego continues to grow and his insecurities take charge in his debates. On the other side of the podium, Sarah, played brilliantly by Kailey Rhodes, is a bestselling religious author who promotes Christianity and the teaching of God in a way that triggers Simon’s atheism and lack of religious beliefs. This heated debate and argument is the main focal point of the film.

Despite being shot fairly simply, the film does have an interesting visual language. Cinematographer A.J. Marson (also his feature debut) gave this a very unique look. It’s mundane, moody, grounded to reality, and there are a good amount of intimate close-ups that capture the emotions despite most of the film being normal medium shots. Ebright’s writing also matches flawlessly with his directing. As someone who’s never had any interest in debates whatsoever (though I did participate in a high school debate one time but I lost so that doesn’t count!) I was pleasantly surprised at how engaged I was with the dialogue. I think for aspiring writers, this can be good study material on how to write lengthy dialogues without making the characters sound fake and staged. Not once did I feel like I was watching a movie. The actual debate session felt authentic and it’s a testament to both the on-screen performers and the guys behind the cameras. Collaboration is key to filmmaking.

"I feel like I'm being haunted for being here."

Without going into spoiler territory, there are a handful of sequences that are nightmarish and haunting due to Simon’s guilt-ridden nature. He has dreams about his friends, he reminisces about his past and loss, and it only worsens his self-confidence and attitude on stage. Patrick Fabian is such a powerhouse in the way he handles his character’s confident “educated” man personality as a front while being a deeply insecure and fragile person behind closed doors. He’s far from a perfect human being, no one is, but the way he treats the women around him is downright humiliating, pathetic, and plain wrong.

“What if she’s smarter than you?”

The keynote debate itself was utilized fine in the film. Although it can drag a bit in the pacing in certain moments, the solid performances and engaging dialogue helped keep the momentum of the film. There are probably interesting conversations to be made about how it handled the discourse, especially for anyone passionate about that sort of thing. There’s decent commentary on religion and faith, and how one seems to be using it as a manipulation tactic, but on the other side of things, the non-believers can also be seen as pessimistic and to a certain degree, at fault on the many shortcomings of humanity. The film never sided with anyone, it’s unbiased and not preachy, unlike certain movies (like God’s Not Dead) where they’re done with such stale and uninspired writing that comes off as pretentious, preachy, and honestly incredibly offensive all around for every party. 

This is a strong first impression from filmmaker Ian Ebright. The ending wrapped up the story rather beautifully, and I found myself genuinely moved by it emotionally. Patrick Fabian’s performance alone is worth giving this a try. Personally, I’m incredibly ecstatic to see what Ebright does next (hearing it might be more of a genre piece, so that’s exciting!). Here’s hoping he gets to do everything he wants as a filmmaker and storyteller.