Analysis of Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000)

Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000) is a crime comedy film featuring an ensemble cast. The film is set around the criminals in London, and contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, and the other with a small-time boxing promoter who finds himself in trouble with a ruthless gangster who is ready and willing to carry out severe acts of violence. Some themes that are central around the plot of Snatch are crime, violence, gang culture and wealth. I think that the target audience for this film was aged between 25-30. This is because it is rated an 18, and so a teenage audience would not be appropriate. But, I still think the film would be effective with an audience of younger boys, as the film lacks sexual and explicit scenes which would be unsuitable content for them.


The film follows a linear, multi-strand narrative as it tells two interlinked stories of a variety of characters including Irish Traveller, Mickey O'Neil, arms-dealer Boris "The Blade", professional thief and gambling addict Franky "Four Fingers", American gangster-jeweler "Cousin Avi", and bounty hunter "Bullet-Tooth" Tony.


In the beginning of the film, all the characters are male, wearing suits and top hats. Now these costumes caught my attention to belong to the genre of Film Noir, and as these men have taken the form of a group, this could connote that they are in a gang, which also is another convention of the Noir genre as their narratives are built on crime in cities. As Neo-noir films such as Sin City have focused on one male protagonist who is usually a detective within a city but normally fighting for the love of a femme-fatal woman against the people she is in trouble with. Neo-noir films have escalated violence within the gangs, and this could potentially be due to the increase of gang violence in modern society today, and therefore this could mean that Snatch also has elements belonging to a social realism film.


In Snatch there are a lot of close-ups and mid-shots used to create a sense of claustrophobia for the audience, as in reality we are not used to viewing things so close that would cause an uncomfortable atmosphere. Contrasts between high and low angles are also used, because the audience are not viewing things at eye level, this emphasises the uncomfortable atmosphere. As the group of men walk through the narrow hallways in the building, point of view shots are used and so then it becomes obvious to the audience that these high angle shots are from a CCTV angle. I know this because the camera pans during a point of view shot, and the shot moves from one CCTV screen to another. By making the audience feel like they are watching the characters from a powerful point of view, this is effective as they feel more of a part in the film, which could increase their suspense and confusion as to what is going to happen in the film.


The props that are used within the film are conventional to the Noir genre. The use of guns throughout Snatch is conventional as conflict is a theme throughout the narrative. This contrasts with the next prop used, diamonds, as they seem to be the cause of the conflict in Snatch, as the group of men shoot the men in the office in order so they can steal the diamonds. The lighting used in Snatch is an important aspect of the film as by using low-key lighting it adds an effect to the dark and dreary atmosphere that Noir films create. Even though Snatch is filmed in colour, in some aspects the lighting is so dark the film could come across as black and white in some scenes.



Analysis of Suffragette (Sarah Gavron, 2015)

Suffragette (Sarah Gavron, 2015) is a historical period drama based on the early members of the British women's suffrage movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Including real life stories and events involving Emily Davison, and leader of the Suffragette movement, Emmeline Pankhurst, the film also includes fictional characters who help convey the issues the film surrounds to a modern-day audience. Some prominent themes throughout the film are gender inequality, power, poverty and conflict, friendship, loyalty and police brutality. 

The film depicts the story of the Suffragette foot soldiers, the women were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal state. These women were not from an educated class, they were working women who had seen their peaceful protests do nothing. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality-their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives. 

The film follows the story of Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) a working-class married woman who works in a factory in Bethnal Green who helps to provide for her son, George. Within the film, representation of women is a major theme, as they are negatively portrayed to be underprivileged and pressed within a patriarchal society. Set in 1912, Maud Watts and women just like her are suffering as they do not have the right to vote, and there for are inferior to their husbands and other 'powerful' males surrounding them. They are not taken seriously and so to create an inspiring effect to the audience, all of the main protagonists are female and are being represented as powerful and ruthless of any restrictions that may be standing in their way. The representation of women in Suffragette support the modern day stereotypes of women that are made today. They are seen as weak, unimportant and their sole purpose is to be a mother and a wife. This creates a contrast for the audience because as the film progresses we realise that these women are the complete opposite of these representations, and they are courageous and inspiring. 

The use of close-ups in the film let the audience see how these women are really feeling, and lets them relate to the pain and suffering they are going through. The use of close-ups help the audience feel connected to the characters. The camera work made the audience feel as if they were within the scenes along with the other women. In particular, in the protest/riot scenes, the camera is placed as if the audience is standing along side the women, rather than watching from above like that government. The use of cold midtones and low-key lighting is used throughout the film. This is to help the audience identify the mood of the characters and portray the streets of London in a negative way. 

The films visual codes helped suggest to the audience that the characters clothing connoted to how they felt during their lives. This is because during the 19th and 20th century women would only wear dark colours, this is because they were working-class and could not afford much else. This then reflected themselves as by significantly not wearing bright colours, it could mean that they have never had the opportunity to excel at anything, and so the grey and brown outfits drained their lives away. 

Suffragette was a truly mesmerising film. The cast played their characters beautifully, and a predominantly female orientated cast was enjoyable to watch, especially with such strong leading ladies such as Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham-Carter and Meryl Streep. Putting me through a wide range of all my emotions, I would happily go back and watch Suffragette 1,000 times again.



Annotated Catalogue (draft)

How have events in Tim Burton’s life provided evidence that it’s reflected in his films?


Films
Item 1
Edward Scissorhands (d. Tim Burton, 1990). As a child Tim Burton was an outcast. He dressed differently from other children and struggled to make friends. Edward Scissorhands character is an example of how Tim Burton wants to go against the hegemonic ideal.

Item 2
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (d. Tim Burton, 2005). Throughout Tim Burton's childhood, his parents had a turbulent relationship, which in effect, ended badly. This is reflected in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Willie Wonka and his father, as they did not get on and went many years without speaking to each other.

Item 3
Vincent (short, d. Tim Burton, 1982). Tim Burton's favourite actor was Vincent Price, and he gained a slight obsession. As a result, the first short film Tim Burton made was based on Vincent Price himself, and Tim Burton also worked on a documentary about him that was never completed.

Item 4
Mars Attacks! (d. Tim Burton, 1996). Tim Burton describes his former fiancée, Lisa Mane, as his muse. She appears in Mars Attacks! film and was the inspiration behind the character, Sally, in The Nightmare Before Christmas (d. Tim Burton, 1993).

Item 5
Frankenweenie (d. Tim Burton, 2012). Tim Burton had an obsession with dead dogs when he was a child. He made a short film of Frankenweenie in 1984, which was deemed unsuitable for Disney's young target audiences and was subsequently fired.

Articles

Item 6
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/tim-burton-his-life-movies-422036

Item 7
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/tim-burton/#_

Item 8

http://www.timeout.com/london/film/tim-burton-interview-1

Item 9
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/07/tim-burton-frankenweenie-interview

item 10

item 11

La Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) and City of God (Meirelles, 2002)

La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) is a black and white drama/suspense social realism film set in the rural and lower class French suburbs. The film follows three young men, Vinz, Said and Hubert and their struggles with living in France with a racist and oppressive police force.

City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002) is a crime-drama film set in a lower class slum of Rio de Janerio in the 1960s. The film is told from the viewpoint of a boy named Rocket, who demonstrates the violence and desperation in the slums.

To compare, both of these films are within the social realism genre and are loosely based on true events. La Haine is based on true events of the death of an 18-year-old black youth who was shot during interrogation by the police in 1992 and City of God depicts drug abuse, violent crime and society wanting to escape the slums in that time.

Throughout La Haine, the theme of class is always present. This is shown by the main character Vinz In the scene where Vinz, Hubert and Said attempt to gain entry to the middle-class block of flats where they hope to meet Asterix, Vinz is given the task to try and go inside because he is white. This shows how in France, the protagonists are very aware of who may be looking at their ethnicity and social standing. Vinz aggression escalates rapidly when they cannot find Asterix, and the audience sees this from a POV shot. This suggests that the audience is the middle-class society, looking down on Vinz as he is working-class. The audience learns that Asterix’s apartment is big and wealthy, with a long banquet table and a cabinet filled with ornaments. This creates a contrast to the apartments the audience saw on the estate at the beginning of the film, which were the boy’s homes.

This compares with in City of God, when Rocket gets a job working for a newspaper. In these scenes the audience can see predominantly white people, dressed smartly in suits and come from a middle-class background. This is shown by a contrast of colour in shots. Everything in the newspaper office is white, and looks sterile and clean, this contrasts with where Rocket lives in the slums, as they are dark and dirty. This creates the idea that Rocket stands out from the other people in the office, and when the reporters find out that Rocket has access to City of God, they use him to their selfish advantage, not caring about the consequences it may have on him.

Another theme that is present throughout both films is masculinity. In La Haine, this is shown when Asterix shows his power and dominance in the scene when the boys are at his apartment as he screws over Vinz with the gun he found. Asterix pretends to act as if he is about to shoot himself with the loaded gun, to which Vinz panics and reacts negatively. As a result, Asterix and Vinz have an argument which then unfolds that the gun was never loaded and emphasises the fact that Vinz is inexperienced in what he is trying to do; this could be foreshadowing to the end of the film when Vinz had the chance to murder a skinhead but chooses to let him go, and then gets himself killed. The audience gets the sense that Vinz was trying to prove to the others in the room that he is just as experienced as Asterix, but it just ended up in him representing himself in a negative way due to his aggression.

In City of God, masculinity is shown through the younger ‘runts’ aspiring to be like the Tender Trio and Li’l Ze. City of God created a cause and effect cycle, as when Li’l Ze was a boy, he aspired to be just like the Tender Trio, and loot and rob the local businesses using weapons. So when he got his turn, all of the children in the next generation then aspired to be just like him, in hope to use their own weapons and so they started looting local bakeries to prove they were ‘men’.  Also in City of God, Li’l Ze caught a group of runts as they were planning to hold up another business to be like him, the majority of the boys got away, but two were left cornered by him. So to prove his masculinity, Li’l Ze made one of his boys that worked for him, Steak, shoot one of them in either the hand or the foot. This was a brutal task to complete; as Steak was only young, but it was the only way he could prove to Li’l Ze that he was worthy of being by his side.

Alternatively, another theme in both films is how the setting of the films is portrayed. La Haine is set in Paris, which is a city known for its beauty in the world, but it is filmed so that it doesn’t look appealing to the audience. This creates a sense of gritty and social realism, as it doesn’t paint the Hollywood picture of a location, it is stripped back and so lets the audience see a realistic setting of where the characters would live. This is why I think the editing to black and white was effective, as it shows no colour, which emphasises how bleak their lives really are.

City of God is set in Rio de Janerio, a city also known for its beauty, as it is filled with colour and buzzing with life. But yet in this film the audience only gets a sense of the lower class slums, which predominantly consist of dismal and dangerous activity. Both films depict their settings in a negative way to reflect the themes and genre of the films.