Interesting to note, in the story itself, how the two women had different reactions and approaches to dealing with such a psychological and physical trauma. While the mother tried to forget the pain ridden terrible memories, her daughter decided to be strong and audaciously challenge them by taking the man to court. In portraying this personal and intense story, Helen Simon infuses No Lullaby with a calm and solemn tone rather than an aggressive one. The film could, in fact, be described as one split into two parts. The first part compiled with conversations with the mother and a close friend of her daughter's, as well as quick but meaningful portrayals of her everyday life. The second part is minimalistic shots accompanied by an out of field narration of a woman's voice recounting the trial, quiting the text from the transcripts and voicing in fact the daughter.
The approach in the second part of the film accentuates the afore mentioned solemnity with which the film is carried out. The restricted visuals allow the viewer to pay close attention to the words, as well as highlight them and examine them. The film as a whole is reduced to this particular story, and its close up and personal nature allows for the story to carry a tone of seriousness that is rarely interrupted - but it is important to note that its atmosphere is never aggressive and aided by its pace, No Lullaby almost comes across as a meditative experience.
Inevitably, one must spare a few words for the subjects themselves, who must have undergone emotional difficulties in telling the story in front of the cameras. On top of that, in order to be able to show the film publicly, Helen Simon had to get permission from the perpetrator of the abuse who still to this day claims to have done nothing wrong. On a practical level, one could see why this film would hence a times come across as non judgemental. A veteran filmmaker might have dared a more drastic approach. The thing that is certain is that this is a documentary that also reads as a tribute to the girl that stood up and did something to fight back even when sadly the institutions turned their backs on her.
