Staring - Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean and Gareth Milne
The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK.
The scene starts with medium shot of a figure - Billy Reynolds - opening a garage. This scene contains only one light source, a lamp in the background, and therefore it is quite a dark scene which is a classic thriller characteristic of Noir Lighting. This creates some intrigue in the scene and acts to draw the audience in to continue watching the rest of the scene and film. The figure then continues to get the Mercedes that is in the garage ready to drive. He gets in the car and starts the window wipers to reveal another character, known as Jason. As this is happening we hear a monologue that sets the scene for the film and gives the audience some background to the character of Jason. Jason's body language in this scene when we first see him is of a very confident man, this is supported by the monologue which tell us that he has just come out of jail and also that everyone in the area knows of him.
We then skip to another scene where Billy is driving Jason into the Dartmouth Tunnel. The tunnel is a signifier for the barrel of a gun which adds to the theme of violence in the film that becomes apparent in the rest of the scene. As they leave the tunnel the camera that is looking at the car from behind in a medium shot, focuses on the "Welcome the Essex" sign. The sign is conveying a message that Essex is a friendly place. This is in contrast to the image of Essex that the film conveys which is Essex as a a violent place that is filled with gangs and crime. In the next part of the scene we see Jason and Billy in a van at a fish market filled with people. Jason then gets out of the van - with a wooden batten - and walks towards a man in a suit which suggests he is a person of importance and influence. We then see the mans expression as he sees Jason. It is an expression of fear which also builds the character of Jason as being a confident person (in the way he walks up and beats the man in a crowed place) as-well as being a violent man (suggested by the way the presumably important man reacts to Jason as he goes to beat him up). Jason then continues to beat him, throw acid in his face and then locks him in the back of the van as Billy is nervously looking on. This tells us that Billy is in a very uncomfortable position that he is not familiar with.
The camera then skips to the van driving along. The van has a very generic nature about it, there is nothing special about it or anything to suggest that there is a person in the back. We see Billy and Jason sitting in the van and we can hear the man in the back shouting and hitting the sides of the van. Billy's body language tells us that he is still very uncomfortable in the current situation. The final part of the scene is on some marshes. Billy opens the back of the van and the man charges out and falls over in the mud. This is a contrast to his first appearance in the fish market. The market was full of people and he appeared very confident. Whereas now in the desolate deserted marsh landscape he is appearing as a very vulnerable person. This landscape could also be a reflection of Jason, despite the confidence that he shows on the outside, he might be feeling lost and quite isolated as he has just come out of prison.
Again a tendency to describe. I'd strongly suggest that you add another post concentrating on lighting and camera angles and movement. You could also identify specific thriller conventions which establish the genre of the film. The Essex Marshes connote Jason's the lack of boundaries in Jason's moral landscape! Jason is like one of Jay's brothers in Animal Kingdom.
ReplyDeleteYou could also include in another post some inter textual references, in that Billy in Essex Boys has similarities to Jay, and Jason has similarities to Pope.