REVIEW - FINAL

POSTER FINAL

poster and review

magazine reviews

Textual analysis

Textual analysis

The title of the film I am going to analyse is ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ directed by Stephen Frears. The genre of the film is a crime, drama thriller and was released on the 13^th December 2002 in the UK.

Todorovs equilibrium model includes five recognised steps. Firstly, a state of equilibrium, where everything appears to be normal. Secondly, a disruption by an event, then the recognition that the disorder has occurred. There is then an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. Lastly, a return of restoration as there is a new equilibrium. Todorovs theory applies to ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ in the different stages of the film. The film begins with Okwe doing his job as a cab driver and then also turning up to his next job at the hotel where he works on reception. The disruption is seen when he tries to unblock a toilet and he finds a human heart. The recognition of the event happens when he tells his friend Guo Yi and the woman he lives with Senay, who also works at the hospital. Okwe finds out that there is illegal organ transplants taking place in the hotel and after his friend agrees to sell her kidney for a British passport, he attempts to repair the disruption by pretending to do the procedure for her, but instead sells the evil bosses kidney for money. The new equilibrium is seen when both Okwe and Senay go back to their own countries after admitting they love each other.

Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions is about how humans understanding is defined by opposites. The binary oppositions in ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ are more complicated than a normal crime thriller because it includes many different situations and characters. Firstly, the main binary opposition is between Okwe and the hotel manager, as good vs. bad. The hotel manager is seen as the bad guy in this film as he is trying to illegally preform organ transplants and as he doesn’t have a doctor to perform the operation, he bribes Okwe to do it for him. The binary opposition is articulated through the hotel managers character shouting, not socialising with the workers and being selfish, whilst Okwe tries to help as many people as he can, is friendly and loyal. Secondly, strong and vulnerable is shown through Juliette (the local prostitute) and Senay (a virgin) who is a desperate immigrant. One other binary opposition shown in this film is the villain, who is the sweatshop owner who makes Senay perform sexual acts as a bribe or he will tell the immigration officer that she is working, and the Senay the victim, as she is left no choice but to co-operate.

The film is in chronological order as the orders of events happen systematically over a period of time. Dirty pretty things has a closed narrative structure, as there is a definite ending for the audience. Although, we are somewhat left wondering what is going to happen once both Senay and Okwe return to their countries, we know that they go their separate ways with no indication that they will ever meet again. The film also has a restricted narrative, as we do not have a god like view of the narrative. This is because key info is withheld from the audience. It can be argued that Senay is the main character in this film as she is on the front cover or because she was the bigger star at the time the film was made. However, Okwe is the actual main character and he is seen as the ‘hero’ in the film.

The first character that I am going to analyse is who I believe is the main character, Okwe. Okwe’s character is typical of the crime/drama genre as he is seen as the hero who saves the day. He is a very kind, smart man who tries to help as many people as he can, especially Senay who he gets extremely close too. This is typical of a crime drama as the hero usually has a partner who helps him save the day. As the ‘hero’ his behaviour is very helpful but also suspicious because he knows that he is an immigrant with hardly any rights. This film uses the codes and conventions of the male character being the hero however; Okwe is an immigrant and has a strong Nigerian accent. This is essential in a niche market film like this, where the film is interested in realism and exploring social inequality and the way Okwe speaks adds credibility and authenticity to the film. He is a worker, who has several jobs, which clearly shows he is underpaid and is stereotypical of someone with a foreign accent. The film highlights how certain people are exploited and in order for this to be shown, his character needs to be played exactly like this. However, later in the film we find out that he used to be a doctor, which goes against this stereotype of immigrants not having an education and doing labour jobs. Throughout this drama, his body language and facial expressions, shows him to be worried and stressed. There are several parts of the film where he is put in situations that are particularly hard for him for example, when he had to steal the medication from a hospital and when the immigration officers came to see if Senay had been working there. His facial expressions show him to be trying to look calm and extremely focused. Okwe’s character wears dark clothing throughout the film, which is typical of a crime/thriller film as he is trying to look discrete and not attract attention to himself.

The second character Senay, who is more typical of a drama film which tackles serious issues and problems, shown through the tone and focus of the film, her behaviour is much different to Okwe’s. Her female character is seen as the vulnerable victim who is in need of saving, and when she begins to sell herself short in order to make some money or get a British passport, the audience begins to feel sorry for her, which is typical of this genre. She speaks in a very polite way and is seen as a young foreign woman, who also has an accent, and therefore is seen as someone who will do the jobs that British working class people, do not want to do. Her facial expressions are hardly ever smiling, which shows that she is not happy with her way of living and her seriousness in which she values her jobs, shows the audience that she appreciates her chance to work. Her body language is portrayed as fearful as she walks fast and always has her head looking down, as she does not want to be involved in anything. Her hair and makeup is minimal which not only shows her lack of money, but also that her appearance doesn’t matter to her, as she is only there to work. 

The story line is fairly typical of the genre; however because of the hybridity of this film, the storyline fits in all three of these categories. The part of the storyline about the illegal organ transplants taking place in the hotel belongs to the thriller and crime genre. The parts of the film to do with the two main characters, their backgrounds and their immigration, belongs to the drama genre, where we get to feel emotions for each character and feel their struggles as it happens to them. There are several themes that run throughout this film. Firstly, the theme of friendship, which comes together at the end of the film where Juliet, doorman and Okwe’s hospital friend, all help Okwe and Senay. Another theme in this film is exploitation, which both Okwe and Senay experience. Senay is exploited in the sweatshops by being made to give sexual pleasures to the boss and Okwe by making him perform the operations in order to stay in the country with a job. Also, the theme of corruption in the hotel by the hotel owner, who is only interested in making more money so he decides to make it illegally in his hotel.

The 2 minute extract I am analysing begins with Juliet (the local prostitute) in the hotel lobby talking to Okwe. From this scene, their diegetic conversation begins with a shot reverse shot of them talking at medium close ups in order to see their facial expressions. The editing style is slow and smooth in order to show that there is nothing for the audience to be on edge about. The mise on scene is in the hotel lobby where there is a front desk; there are many props involved such as flowers for the setting, Juliette’s high heels on the counter and a cigarette, which she is smoking. This is typical for a crime thriller as most people smoke to show they are ‘rebellious’ or ‘trouble’. Once Okwe is told to go to the room, we see an establishing shot of the mise en scene, to understand more about the job Juliet does at the hotel. The lights turn from dim to bright as he enters the room, we then see the bed clearly with a high angled shot of the props such as glasses and a remote on the bed. The camera stays at a high angle. The camera begins to pan as Okwe walks towards the bathroom. The slow editing style continues to make the audience feel relaxed. This is contradicted with the choice of no music of sounds, which could make the audience feel like something is about to happen and is very typical in dramas to create suspense. We then hear the sounds of water flooding in the bathroom as he walks into the room and turns the light on, we get a close up of his frustrated facial expressions, and then a straight cut to him walking into the bathroom again after taking his jacket off. The camera stays still whilst he is trying to unplug to toilet, and moves in and out of the frame with his head. The audience then is shown bubbles of blood appearing in the toilet by a worm eye view shot inside the toilet. This is a creative shot in order to show the blood and also Okwe’s facial expressions. Non diegetic music begins to play of slow high pitched music, which creates tension, we then see a close up of Okwe trying to retrieve whatever is in the toilet, and eventually see an extreme close up, of a point of view shot of him holding a heart In his hand. A jump cut is then edited in, of him taking the heart in a bag, back downstairs into the lobby.

Hyperlink to the final cut of our film.. RED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWV8FRkODwA

Hyperlink to.. The pitch

Review Analysis 2

Review Analysis 1

Reece Report

The significance of using this location as the girls’ workplace is that it has a flat surface for the girls to work on and it has the equipment that the girls need when bagging up the drugs and this is where most of the filming will be done. Also by using a warehouse as a place where the young girls’ bag drugs adds to the effect of the film and the social realism genre as there will all sorts of machinery and equipment which you would typically find in a warehouse. 

The machinery there can be dangerous and to avoid any health and safety issues we will not be using any of the machinery.

Due to a lack of windows in the warehouse not much natural light gets in so we will have to use lights to get the right amount of lightning needed in our film.
As we will be filming in a warehouse it will be very quiet and a lot of the sound will echo. 

 The significance of using this location is that it’s a good location to use for Red’s office as there are papers, a computer, a phone, a desk and many other things that you would typically find in an office.

As there are no windows in the office we have problems with lightning. Also, another problem we may have problems with using this location is that it isn’t always free.

We use this location to show one of the workers (the main character) making her way to work. We show her walking down a quiet backstreet near a field and follow her as she makes her way into the warehouse.
We may have problems with sound when using this location, for example; wind and cars.
However, lightning will not be a problem as we will be filming outdoors in the day time so we will have loads of natural light to use but the weather may be a problem e.g. if it rains. And for safety reasons we will have to look out for moving vehicles.

Poster Analysis

The genre of ‘Gia’ is not necessarily shown on the poster, as it does not incorporate the generic conventions and characteristics that you’d usually see on a film poster that has drugs incorporated in it. However, the poster does stick to another of its genres which is a biographical film, having the face of the main actor on the whole poster. This is an extreme-close-up of Gia’s face, where half of the face is fading out. This could be interpreted as if she knows half of herself, but when the drugs and such are involved; she begins to lose herself in them. It could also connote that she is hiding something, with half of the face not being as clear as the other half, creating a sense of mystery in her character The film poster doesn’t necessarily stick to the conventions of a movie that incorporates narcotic misuse, but sticks to the conventions of a biographical movie.

The tag line ‘Too beautiful to die. Too wild to live’, attracts the audience as it’s in capital letters and in black, capturing the attention of the audience. It is a straight to the point, self-explanatory tagline, which in a sense, wraps up the whole aspect of the movie into two short sentences.

The title ‘Gia’ is the only text on the poster in colour, instantly attracting the audience to the. It is clearly visible and tells the audience who the movie is about. Moreover, the main actors face is shown on the whole poster, highlighting her importance within the movie.

HBO, usually presents documentaries. Audiences familiar with HBO would recognise the symbol, which would make the audience know that it is a biographical film. This could be seen as a USP for those who like watching biographical films as many know that HBO produces highly recommended films to a good standard.

POSTER - Hajra

The poster for Ill Manors suggests that the genre for the film is crime and the USP is carrying a gun. The audience would assume that it is an urban crime drama as the buildings behind him suggest that the mise en scene is in an urban area. The drama aspect can be suggested from the facial expression the character wears. He looks focused yet worried and on guard all at the same time suggesting that this is a serious film and would conventional consist aspects of drama in it.

The title of the Film is written in bold white letters that stand out from the gloomy dark back ground. The word Ill is written in a large font that covers majority of the main character. The letters in the word ill appear to look like tower blocks and also prison cell bars. This could suggest that the character is stuck behind the blocks of ill manors and is trapped. The hand that comes out of the block is the hand that is carrying the gun this could suggest that the only way out of ill manors is through violence, death, crime or other illegal activities.

The slogan for the film is written at the very top of the poster in small font, the words used make the audience think that the residents of ill manors are almost trapped in their environment. This makes the audience think that some of themes of ill manors consist of violence, struggle, etc.

The photography for this poster looks as if it was shot through a fish lens. This emphasises the main character. The colour conations of this film suggest that it will be a dark and potential sad film as the dark colours give off a gloomy atmosphere. The street lights in the background imply that the crimes and danger comes out at night.

The release date, the director, and Plan B’s name are written In Bold white font just light the title. This contrasts with the background and stands out. There are ratings around the characters head in big font which catches the audience’s eye. This implies that the film was successful which would therefore lead to more people watching it.

The USP used in the poster is Riz Ahmed. He has featured in films such as ‘Four Lions’, ‘The Road to Guantanamo’ and ‘Shifty’. Audiences of these films will be inclined to watch ill manors as it features the same actor. Secondly this actor is known to film in movies where the genres are conventionally crime, dramas and comedy, therefore the audience will already have somewhat of an idea about the film.

The font of the written language used is bold sans serif, which makes the film look modern. The words are large and leave an impact on the audience. However words such as ‘Presents’ and ‘A film’ are written in a thin font which suggests that it is not the most important information to take from the poster.

Right at the bottom of the poster in small font is the credits, ratings and other necessary information that is required to be presented on a movie poster.

The target audience for ill manors is adults between 18-25 as the film is rated 18. Also it is for men as the main characters is a boy however it effects both male and female audiences. The movie is for preferably young men who can identify with the character and that are usually at a social economic grade of E.

Hajra siddiqui

Textual Analysis - Ill manors Hajra

ILL MANORS – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

The movie I will be analyzing is called ‘Ill Manors’ which was directed by Ben Drew. The film was initially released on May 30^th 2012. The genre of this film is crime/drama.

The narrative for ‘Ill Manors’ is quite difficult to outline as the story is a multi-strand narrative which follows multiple characters and how each of their individual circumstances intertwine to become one big plot. However there is one character that is somehow linked to every single character and therefore it is appropriate to assume he is the main character. The movie begins with a young man, referred to as Aaron, watching a TV interview about foster care youth. He is sitting at home and smoking a cigarette. The audience will assume that this may be the equilibrium as it shows that he is in his home comfortable and nothing is going wrong. There is also a montage of a young man making cocaine, CCTV shots of social housing, scenes of drug use and violence. Although this may seem rather unstable, it is actually regarded as the norm in ‘Ill manors’ therefore it can still be considered the equilibrium. The first sign of disruption occurs when two men are standing behind a building presumably selling drugs when they are caught by the police, one of the boys gets caught and is sent to prison while the other escapes. This disruption leads to a chain reaction of several events to be caused. The first disruption ended up causing a young women being prostituted for money however once this was resolved it led to another problem as now the young women’s life was effected by the solution of the initial disruption. One of the last consequences of the disruptions that resulted in a resolution was when Aaron finds a baby left on the train carriage. All conflicts and disruptions are solved towards the end of the film as all the characters are gathering around a burning pub trying to save the baby who is locked in a room. This results in one of the characters, named Ed, being killed but the baby being saved. This can be seen as the third element in todorovs equilibrium cycle, resolution. The restored order occurs when each individual character finally resolves their issues, for example the mother of the baby gets her child back, one of the drug dealers gets arrested, a young girl learns to fight back and Aaron has decided to move on from his life in the estate. The new equilibrium begins with Aaron sitting in a mini cab driving away to somewhere, beginning his journey to his new life. Ill manors has an omniscient narrative throughout the film the audience constantly see the story of different characters and as all the characters are some how linked the audience are aware of things that will occur before they happen, giving them and omniscient perspective.

The genre codes and conventions for Ill Manors are conventional to a drama and crime movie. The story line connects emotionally with the audience by using the tragic lives of all the characters. The non-diegetic ambient music creates an emotional atmosphere and allows the audience to empathize with the characters more. The characters in the film appear to have a low status in society, we can see this through their costume and dialect. Majority of the characters are dressed in mainly sportswear such as hoodies, tracksuits, hats, shorts etc. These types of clothing are stereotypically worn by young teenagers involved in anti social behavior.

The themes of the film presented within ‘Ill manors’ include; racism, crime, death, forgiveness, redemption, exploitation, revenge, addictions etc.  These are very conventional themes for this particular genre of film. The racism appears constantly throughout the film, the audience sees this in scenes such as when a young boy is tied up and beaten for the colour of his skin, or even when the police stop and search the teenagers.  Death is a reoccurring theme throughout the film also and this links to both the crime and drama genre. Forgiveness and redemption are seen when Aaron decides to forgive his parents for giving him up for foster care and decides to start his life over to make up for the mistakes he made.  Although these particular examples are only representing a few characters the themes listed above effect every character.

The cinematography of Ill manors was rather contemporary as there was a variety of shots and sizes. One of the main features that set Ill manors apart from other urban crime dramas was the fact that they use clips recorded by mobile phones within the movie. This allowed the audience to understand the naivety of the characters and witness how young the characters truly were. By filming these montages using a camera phone effect, it gave the film a sense of realness which effected the audience’s emotions more and raised their awareness on actual violence within the streets of London. The cinematographer, Gary Shaw, used a selection of shots which brought the movie ill manors to life. Several close up shots of the charters face and emotions where filmed in a shallow focus and this emphasised their facial expressions and dialogue.

At the beginning of the film there is an establishing shot of the mise en scene for Ill manors. The majority of the film is shot at eye level which gives the film a more realistic atmosphere. However some scenes, when preparing the drugs for example, are filmed in either a high angel or at a bird’s eye view. There is a scene in the film when one of the characters is removing a gun from a water tank and this is shot as a P.O.V of the object he is taking.

The diegetic and non-diegetic music used in Ill manors was mainly Urban street music. This music was appropriate to use as it reflected the mise en scene and also the characters personality. Majority of the film was filmed in low key lighting, showing off a darker London. The director of the film was attempting to create a grim and brutal outlook on London city. He achieved this by filming scenes in the night using the street lamps as the main source of light shown on screen.

Aaron’s character is presented as a young man who has the capability to become a good person but is trapped in his life on the streets. The storyline goes on to show the audience the trials and tribulations Aaron undergoes to become the man he does at the end of the film, and how his actions along with others have an impact on his life and theirs. By creating a multi strand narrative the story line also portrays a clear message to the audience; the links suggest that although we as a society may not be participating in such acts first hand we are still linked to the root of the problem and therefore it takes multitude of people to make a change rather than leaving it on the shoulders of one individual.  

Analysis on clip

The sequence begins with a young man typing something on his phone. The shot is a deep focus as it concentrates on the group of teenagers in the background who appear to be rapping. The shot refocuses on the young man. The scene then cross cuts to the group of teenagers rapping, the diegetic sounds the rappers make works to create the atmosphere within the scene. The young rappers are shot from an over shoulder angle and the movement of the camera is handheld. The scene cross cuts back to the young man who is now talking on the phone, The scene changes angles as it now shoots the young man from behind him in a long shot as he leans against a telephone pole and we can see a blurry image of police officers approaching him. The scene cuts and now shows the back of the police officers as they begin to stop and search the young man, the background presents a blurry image of the youths who are still rapping, this is once again filmed in a long shot. The scene cross cuts back to the rapping youths, the movement of the camera is handheld. The scene cuts back to the young man being searched at medium long shot. The scene cuts and shows a blurry head of a woman walking towards the two men. The scene cuts to a medium long shot of the boy leaning on the pole and the officers and woman’s face can now be seen clearly. The characters speak to each other and the scene cuts to another angle at eye level where the young man speaks to the ‘Social Worker’. The police look as if they are standing in between them. The scene cuts and changes angle to a medium long shot showing the social worker explaining herself to the officer, however this scene also shows more background then before, the officer cuts her off and looks into the direction of the background. The camera cuts to the direction the officer is staring at and we see that the other officer is receiving a message. The scene cuts to young man as he stares at the officer with a hateful expression. In the scene we can see the two officers run off in the background however the camera is focused on the young man. The Young man speaks to his social worker and we can see that he respects her and that she is important to him. The scene cuts to a long shot of the two talking from a side angle, more of the mise en scene is presented through this as we can see the man is standing at a back road, and there are bins in the background. The scene cuts back and forth as over shoulder medium long shot as the two converse. The camera once again cuts to a side view as the social worker offers the young man a letter. These three shots continue until final the young man takes the letter. The scene the cuts to a close up high angle shot of the letter the young man is holding and then it cuts back to a long shot where he places the letter in his pocket.

Throughout this scene there is low key lighting as it was filmed in the night. The mise en scene appears to be filmed in an urban area in London city. The characters of the youths in the scene appear to be dressed in hoodies, hats, jogging bottoms and trainers. The officers are costumed in their uniform, which is a florescent green jacket. The social worker is dressed in casual wear.

There is no non diegetic music in the scene however there are the diegetic sounds of the youths who are rapping. This rapping appears to be off screen when the shots of the young man appear however on screen when it cuts to the actual location of the rapping. The Diegetic music sounds out when the dialogue begins however at the very end the music slowly fades in.

The clip begins with a deep focus of the back ground and blurry foreground.

 Cross cut to boys beat boxing and rapping

Cross cut to young man on phone

Cut to a different angle of boy, blurry background.

 

Cut to an over shoulder shot of police talking to boy.

Cut back to the angle were police can be seen during conversation

Cross cut to boys beat boxing

 

Cross cut back to boy and police conversation

Blurry foreground of woman approaching, boy looking at woman.

Medium Long shot of all the characters.

Cut to medium close up

                                                                                                                                    

Cut to another angle showing woman and police facial expressions.

Cut to long shot of characters talking.