'Voiceless' is a deeply sensitive and well-observed short film that casts a direct and uninhibited light on the experience of stammering. Under the guidance of Thomas Schubert and the subtle work of Matt Hansen as Joe, the movie transcends the well-trodden plot of overcoming a speech impediment. Rather, it investigates the possibility of negotiating identity, fear, self-worth and the demands of others all within intimate, vulnerable speaking.

Granted, 'Voiceless' is a tale of hearing. Joe, an immature man who has a stammer, is lured, with reluctance, into the writing and acting group of his friends. From the very beginning, Schubert does not transform Joe into a character or an element of the plot; he is just a man who stammers and has all the complications that accompany this. Through some very mundane interactions we learn the minor management techniques that Joe uses to handle daily verbal communication: switches of words, shallow pauses to get the tension off his chest, the preemptive wince when he feels a block coming.

It is one of the strongest accomplishments of the film that it breaks the stereotypes most people have about stammering. Joe has friends who are very well-intentioned, but at first, they are quite naive and think that encouragement will be the solution to his phobia of speaking. This transformation depends on the performance of Hansen. He plays Joe with a kind of quiet internalness: nervous glances, protective humor, and even the tightening of the jaw on a word that is going to be hard to say. His stammer is not depicted as tragic or inspirational but as an element of himself that forms both his weaknesses and strengths.