Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. This has no known audio description.

This. I’d love my review to just say “this”, with a grade, and nothing else. there are some truly exceptional uses of the form of documentary this year, and this is one of them. There are so many documentaries you can point to and say “this is like that”, and very few you can say are not like anything you’ve seen before.

Charlie Shackleton tells the audience what could have been. He had been working on a project centered around the hunt for the zodiac killer, using material from someone involved in the case. However, his project completely falls through, and he’s not legally allowed to make that film anymore. However, that doesn’t stop him from carefully walking us through the project, and what it could have been, breaking down his intentions.

The best thing I could compare it to is director’s commentary, which as blind and low vision people have likely lamented is a foreign concept since there’s never Director’s Commentary AND Audio Description. I’m sure a few super fans have listened to a track or two for the films they know like the back of their hands, but what about a film that doesn’t exist?

That’s what Shackleton explores here in detail, is a breakdown, play by play, with as much detail as he’s allowed to divulge, about what his film would have been. It is certainly a wonderfully conceived idea, and one that would be lovely to see happen to some films that have never seen the light of day. I would definitely watch this if the team behind Batgirl wanted to give us a “what might have been” film.

But, the reality is, I’m a blind film critic and I never had a true visual understanding of anything in the film. while the structure of the film doesn’t allow for robust description, there were little breaks. You could have squeezed some in. My counter argument to myself, is that director’s commentaries don’t have audio description, and this is basically that, but with a film that never got to exist.

I think it is a fascinating concept, and quite likely one of the best documentaries of the year. That phrase, when life gives you lemons, make Zodiac Killer Project comes to mind. Wait, that doesn’t feel right. Either way, there’s something brilliant in the concept, and the audacity to find a way forward, even when feeling the crushing defeat. Shackleton knows he won’t be able to make his Zodiac project, but he can make a film about not being able to I have no idea what his capabilities might be for a narrative feature as a writer or director, but I applaud his brilliance in finding a unique way to get what sounds like a killer story out there. It’s the most interesting proof of concept, and it would be scored higher if it had description. I just can’t go much higher than this without an idea of what’s on screen. I’m already taking a risk that he didn’t just talk over footage of dancing clowns and teletubbies. While that would be a gag, it would turn me off.

My score hopefully reflects the suggestion to my sighted readers that I have enough faith in the film to score it this high, and this review stands as a caution for those who need audio description to proceed at your own peril. If you are a director’s commentary junkie, you might be fine without the audio description. but for a film that could just be described as audacious, I’m going fresh.

Fresh: Final Grade: 7.4/10