Thriller: British Film Review 2 - V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta was directed by James Mcteigue and was released on the delayed date of March 17^th 2006, 4 months later than its intended date of the 4^th of November (the eve of the 400^th Guy Fawkes Night). Reviews were mixed, but the film holds a firm spot in IMDB’s top 100 movies of all time and received over $132 million in worldwide box office earnings.

Set in London in a near-future dystopian society, Evey, a working-class girl played by Natalie Portman, must determine if her hero, the shadowy freedom fighter known only as “V” (played by Hugo Weaving) who uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society has become the very menace she is fighting against.

The first shot succeeding the titles is shot from the point of view of V, sitting opposite a mirror. It shows him picking up and putting on a Guy Fawkes mask; editing is in place here to make the shot blur, then come back into focus when his mask is positioned correctly on his face. The television in the room is playing a broadcast from “Fate”, a show hosted by the government. Stereotypical, eerie thriller music begins to play in the background just as the mask is placed upon V’s face.

The camera then cuts to a close-up side shot of V’s mask/face on the left hand-side of the screen, and then begins to pan from left to right. The camera pans “into” the wall, and appears on the other side, showing a close-up side shot of Evey, who is also getting ready to go out by applying makeup on in the mirror. This gives the impression that V and Evey are on opposite sides of the wall, when really they are in totally separate buildings. Further adding to this effect is the continuous sound from the television, as they both have the same show on in the background. This effect also suggests that both of their paths will at some point intertwine.

The next shot is a close-up of Evey’s feet walking along the pavement towards the right. The camera then cuts to an identical shot of V’s feet walking towards the left, depicted in the two screenshots below (again suggesting they are going to meet each other).

Tannoys placed on the streets broadcast a message saying that a curfew is in place, showing us the two characters are not meant to be out at this time. The following scene shows a series of events where Evey runs into a group of men working for the government, whose job it is to ensure nobody is out “after-hours”. As they begin to restrain Evey, V appears in an archway, dressed all in black, his outfit complete with a large black top hat. The lighting during the next few shots in which V disposes of the fingermen is very dark, illuminated only by a solitary lamp from a nearby window and the moon. During many fight scenes, the camera is typically handheld. However, as V easily brandishes these men aside with swift movements, there are also several steady shots, perhaps to represent the ease with which he disposes of them.

Thriller: British Film Review 1 - A Clockwork Orange

Directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1971, A Clockwork Orange is a darkly satirical science fiction film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel of the same name. Set in future Britain, the film follows charismatic delinquent Alex Delarge, who is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society’s crime problem.

A Clockwork Orange was critically well-received and was nominated for several awards, including the “Academy Award For Best Picture”. However, Kubrick himself removed the film from the UK’s public viewing, due to it sparking copycat crimes; although this is also debatable, as a popular theory spoken about in the film documentary of Kubrick’s life suggest that he withdrew the film due to police advice, following threats against him and his family.

Following the titles, the film sharply cuts to a close-up shot of Alex Delarge staring straight at the camera in full droog attire, as Beethoven’s symphony begins to increase in volume. The camera slowly tracks out to reveal Alex and his droogs sitting in a milk bar, as he begins his monologue, revealing their plans of ultraviolence for the evening.

The next scene involves a drunken homeless man loudly singing to himself in a tunnel/passageway. The lighting here is very dark, enabling us to see the shadows of Alex and his droogs slowly approaching the old man. The voiceover from Alex in which he reveals his distaste for drunken, singing, homeless men sets the scene for the following events in which they grievously harm the defenceless man.

The music used in the following scene is used in quite an ironic fashion. The shot is set inside an abandoned theatre, where another gang comprising of “Billy Joe and his droogs”, are about to rape a defenceless woman. Classical music plays over the top of the scene, much like how it would have actually been played back when the theatre was in use, which is ironic as the events about to unfold are extremely grim, whereas the music is rather upbeat. The camera then cuts to a shot of Alex and his droogs making their entrance from where the audience would once have been seated. There are a lot of quick cuts in this scene where the two gangs are fighting, orchestrated by the classical music playing over the scene, almost choreographing the fight. The camera shots in this scene range in length from close to medium shots, with heavy use of a handheld camera, to make the audience feel they are within the action. The lighting here, not unlike the lighting in the last scene, is very dim.

Thriller: American Film Review 2 - Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 thriller written and directed by Quentin Tarantino that is known for its rich eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humour and violence, nonlinear storyline and host of cinematic illusions and pop culture references. The film is hugely successful, being nominated for seven Oscars and ranking 4^th on IMDB’s top movies of all time. The film follows the interlinking storylines of multiple characters, the three “main” characters being Jules Winnfield, Vincent Vega and Butch Coolidge (Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta and Bruce Willis).

The film opens to a shot of a title card, bearing two dictionary definitions of the word “Pulp”; the words eventually fade out and the camera cuts to the opening scene. In keeping with Tarantino’s trademark non-chronological narrative, the ending to Pulp Fiction is also the opening scene, not unlike Fight Club (although the nature of Pulp Fiction’s nonlinear storyline differs greatly to Fight Club’s otherwise chronological series of events). For the opening scene we get a medium shot of “Honey Bunny” and “Pumpkin” who are having breakfast in a diner. Halfway through their conversation involving the comparison of the consistent difficulty of robbing a bank to robbing a liquor store, the camera cuts to a shot-reverse-shot between the couple, mainly to show the facial expressions of the two characters during their conversation.

The fact that they were discussing the benefits of robbing a restaurant, which involves a greater intake and less risk of being caught, is ironic, as Jules is later shown to be in the restaurant at the time, ruining their whole “cutting down on the Hero factor” ideology.

After realising they can make vast amounts of money from the holding up of the diner (due to the option of robbing the customers as well as the business) and initiating said hold-up, the scene breaks off and the title credits roll to the sounds of Dick Dale’s Misirlou.

The titles themselves are all displayed in one shot, instead of showing some visuals in between names. After the titles are shown, the camera cuts to a shot of Jules and Vince driving to Brett’s apartment in their car, shot from the point of view of someone looking in through Vince’s window. The non-diagetic music fades out at the start of this scene and is replaced by the diagetic sound of the banter between Vince and Jules. Much like in the previous scene, halfway through their conversation the camera cuts to a shot-reverse-shot to show closer detail of their facial expressions. The camera then cuts to a shot of Jules and Vince opening the trunk of the car, shot from the point of view someone in the trunk of the car would have. This is a traditional shot that Tarantino enjoys using, as shown in the image below depicting the same shot used throughout his other films.

After they enter the hotel in which Brett is staying, the camerawork in the next few shots is very nicely done. For example, when they enter the lobby, the camera is stationed in the top right corner of the room, much like where a CCTV camera would be. So we see Vince and Jules enter through the doors then walk over to enter the lift. When they arrive on the higher floor, Vince and Jules walk down the hallway towards the camera. The camera tracks back at the same speed as Vince and Jules, so as to maintain the medium-shot. When Vince and Jules stop walking, the camera stops too, as if to suggest that we are there with them, helping to place the audience within the scene which in turn makes them feel more connected to the characters.