This is England: Case Study

‘This is England’ (2006) by Shane Meadows: Case study

Certification and Reasoning

This Is England is certified as an 18 due to the content of rude and vulgar language, in particular the word ‘cunt’ which is the strongest word in the English vocabulary, and also the re-occurring themes of strong racist abuse, such as the scene in which Shaun repeatedly calls a Pakistani shop owner a ‘paki’ and then the group pull a switchblade on him. There are also scenes of sexual and violent content, for example the scene in which a 16 year old girl asks Shaun whether he would like to ‘suck her tits’. Shaun Meadows was very upset with this certification as he felt that the most important group to watch the film would be teenagers between the ages of 12-18, however with the certification of 18 this group was clearly ineligible.

Locations

The film was shot in three main locations. These were:

-Cleethorpes, North Lincolnshire, England, UK (ending credits)

-Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

-RAF Newton, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK (abandoned houses)

Company Credits

The production companies to the film were:

-Big Arty Productions

-EM Media

-Film4

-Optimum Releasing

-Screen Yorkshire

-UK Film Council

-Warp Films

All of these companies have produced other famous British films and/ or other films by Shane Meadows. Big Arty Productions have in particularly worked closely with Meadows, producing seven of his ten films (Where’s The Money, Ronnie? – 1996, Small Time – 1996, A Room for Romeo Brass -1999, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands – 2002, Dead Man’s Shoes – 2004, Northern Soul – 2004 and This Is England – 2006)

EM Media have also worked with Meadows on two other occasions excluding This Is England (Once Upon a Time in the Midlands – 2002, Dead Man’s Shoes – 2004) while Film4 and Warp Films have both worked with Meadows on one previous occasion (Dead Man’s Shoes – 2004). UK Film Council on the other hand have not worked with Meadows on any other occasion, however, like Warp Films and Film4, they have been part of countless famous British films such as:

-Bride and Prejudice (2004)

-Valiant (2005)

-The Constant Gardener (2005)

-Severance (2006)

-The Last King of Scotland (2006)

-Venus (2006)

-Notes on a Scandal (2006)

-Brick Lane (2007)

Meanwhile Film4 also have an impressive list of successful British films:

-The Last King of Scotland (2006)

-Venus (2006)

-Brick Lane (2007)

-In Bruges (2008)

-Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Distribution

These were the distributors of the film:

-IFC Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

-IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

-Iae (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)

-King Record Co. (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)

-Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (all media)

-NetFlix (2007) (USA) (DVD)

-NonStop Entertainment (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)

-Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (theatrical)

-Red Envelope Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

-Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)

User Comments and User Rating: From http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/usercomments

A great British film - or should that be English?, 29 April 2007
******** 8 stars
Author: Andrew Marshall from United Kingdom

There is no doubt that this film is a truly great piece of film-making. Shane Meadows crafts films in the same style as Martin Scorcese. We are given a glimpse into the lifestyle of a group of characters over a short period of time. It is very much a fly on the wall type of movie. The point of these films is to understand the actions of the characters rather than judging their actions. I have no doubt that there will be some people that tag this film as being racist which is rather missing the point.

The film follows Shaun a 12 year old being brought up in early 80's England. He has lost his father in the Falklands war and suffers bullying and isolation until he is befriended by a group of skinheads. The happy band are challenged when Combo is released from prison. Thomas Turgoose is magnificent in the lead role and the direction/screenplay are also spot on the mark. For anybody that lived through the period there are lots of reminders about the period. The film is based on Meadow's own childhood and is quite mesmerizing at times.

I was gripped throughout the film and it also gave me plenty to think about afterwards. What more can you ask for when going to the movies? I suppose if you go to the movies for escapism then go watch something else, but if you want a gripping thought provoking drama then it doesn't come much better than this. Outstanding!

Skins in Thatcherland, 19 August 2007
******** 8 stars
Author: Stensson from Stockholm, Sweden

The skinhead culture fascinates many directors and it's understandable. It's one of the few remaining subcultures in the West, much because of the Nazi connections.

But the skins in this movie aren't political and no racists to start with. One of the gang members is even black. They live in a happy community in the early 80s, having fun and being together in a totally grey unfriendly working class environment. It's very hopeful and the 12-year-old finds himself accepted for the first time in his life. His longing for the dead father of the Falklands war is somewhat replaced.

But darkness arrives with the skin veteran who comes back from jail. And there are conflicts between the racist fraction and the others. But whatever this is, it's not black and white. The characters are much more complicated.

Much has been said about young Thomas Turgoose as the 12-year-old. He's very good but the great portrait is by Stephen Graham as the old/new gang leader. Absolutely brilliant work.

Best film of the Berlin Film Festival 2007, 14 February 2007
********** 10 stars
Author: dePaoli from Berlin, Germany

I just saw "This Is England" at the Berlin Film Festival where it was screened in the section "Generation 14P". This section is an extension of the former "Kinderfilmfest" for teenagers between 14 and 18 - dealing with more mature issues.

I had no clue about it, just that it would be about skinheads in England and that it takes place in the 80s. I wasn't expecting much, hoping for something like a British version of "American History X" - I got a lot more.

When I left the theater I was absolutely stunned! Cast and script were outstanding. I loved the rough editing and grainy camera style that made the movie look a real 80s flick! And last but not least: the soundtrack is a blast! And coming from a director who used to be part of the real scene, it might be the most authentic picture about skinheads ever made.

Although it didn't get as much attention as the Hollywood films that had their premiere at the Berlinale Palast, it's a lot stronger than almost all the films in competition.

Shane Meadows...is a genius!, 27 April 2007
********** 10 stars
Author: nextlevel from United Kingdom

Man oh man, I haven't been blown away by a movie since American History X.

I won't go into the detail of this, I really advise you to watch this movie.

It's hard hitting and gripping, right from the very beginning. Magnificent performances from relatively unknown actors. He did it with Dead Man's Shoes, he's gone and done it again. Hollywood producers, take note. You don't need the best special effects teams, or the 'glamorous' actors. Meadows makes his work look effortless, yet at the same time, it's brilliant, because of its simplicity. I didn't so much grow up in the 80’s; 90's was when I really grew up so can't comment on the accuracy of the times.

I'm a British/Pakistani and wasn't offended a single bit, and there is lots of violence and racism but nothing that isn't expected if you’re not narrow minded. This is a brilliant British movie, and I'm sure now Meadows will finally get the credit he deserves.

Shane Meadows, come forward. Take a bow.

Expected a Lot More., 12 July 2007
***** 5 stars
Author: cornisle1 from United Kingdom

After seeing Meadows' previous efforts I was expecting great things from this film. It starts off well, the 1980s setting really shining through. But as soon as the young lad joins the skinheads it's just too unbelievable, expecting the audience to accept the plot developments as normal human interaction. For instance, the romance of a pre-pubescent boy with a girl of at least 16, and it remains unquestioned by all as if it's normal. The acceptance of the lad's mother of her 12 year old son joining a gang of older, smoking and drinking skinheads. None of it rings true. Meadows has made much in the publicity of this film stating that skinheads weren't all racist NF thugs, but in the film there are only a couple of them who don't immediately jump in with Combo and his NF mates. There just isn't much plot development, Woody starts off as one of the main characters but as soon as Combo turns up is hardly seen at all.

Very disappointing. This and "Once Upon A Time In The Midlands" are leading me to question whether Meadows can be as consistently talented as I was hoping he would be.

I seem to be the only one who thought this was rubbish!, 11 September 2007
*** 3 stars
Author: (siblancomusic) from United Kingdom

The mood of this movie is pretty good and it captures the feel of the 80's well with some good performances.

However.....

The script is run of the mill with the exception of a couple of comedic moments and comes off as being weird where I expect it was intended to be edgy. The characters are totally over dramatized and unbelievable and full of right wing clichés that the script writer probably saw watching a panorama documentary on the national front. The biggest problem is this movie has no real story. It ticks all the right "arty" boxes but nothing actually happens and at the end you are left wondering what the point was.

Very disappointing

A highly overrated film. (Only minor spoilers.), 17 September 2007
*** 3 stars
Author: pib and pob from United Kingdom

I watched this film last night with anticipation, but really wasn't very impressed.

With the exception of 'Combo', I thought the acting was poor and the narrative was limited. It came across like a 'made for TV' drama.

I felt that the film was very contrived. The whole set up of hammering in the context at the start (yes, we get that this is 80s Britain - you can stop now) was tiresome, and gave a very one-sided view of what life was like in 80s Britain - poverty, war juxtaposed with royalty, Margaret Thatcher, yet nothing in between? There were actually middle-classes who existed back then - just ordinary working people, with a decent wage and a mortgage. The Falklands clips also seemed to be added randomly towards the end, for 'dramatic effect', I presume.

The sequence of events felt a tad disjointed, as the characters moved one one action to the next without us seeing how their mindset could've changed so quickly.

The relationship between 'Shaun' and 'Smell' was toe-curling. I couldn't even look during the snogging scene. I find it very hard to believe that she would've been attracted to a boy who was not only so much younger, but also looked so much younger. I know there were only four years between them, but four years is nothing once you reach your twenties, yet it's a huge difference in your teens! In my experience, that kind of teen age difference only occurs when the girl is the younger one, since girls mature so much quicker, and are more on the wavelength of boys a few years older. Sorry, but I didn't buy it - an unnecessary plot point created for shock value.

The ending was somewhat abrupt and, again, contrived. If the flag throwing incident was supposed to be iconic, then it fell somewhat short in my eyes.

It bugs me that British films only concern themselves with either the upper classes or the poverty-stricken. Don't get me wrong, I love Trainspotting, and Four Weddings has its charms, but can't we Brits come up with anything different? Why are our films always so hung up on the class system? I was born in 1973, so wasn't much different in age to 'Shaun' would've been in 1983. I grew up in a single parent family on a fairly down-trodden council estate in a city in England. However, my childhood experiences were vastly different to those portrayed in the film - I don't even remember racism being an issue (although i'm not saying it didn't exist). 'This is England'? Not in my experience.

The bottom line is that I felt this film lacked substance, and I was completely bored and unimpressed throughout.

These reviews suggest that there were a mixture of reactions to the film, however an overall user rating of 7.9 (as voted for by 19, 276 people) shows that generally it received a positive response. The fact that two of the most positive user comments were written by a German from Berlin (dePaoli) and a Swede from Stockholm (Stensson) suggests that the film can be enjoyed by those that you may not necessarily think would particularly relate to the characters in the film. This is quite surprising as one of the essential appeals of the film is the home-grown, distinctly British signifiers which are primarily aimed at young Brits of today. However, the fact that the three negative user comments were written by three people from the UK is quite interesting as according to some of their comments such as ‘my childhood experiences were vastly different to those portrayed in the film…’ the film is perhaps not so representative and authentic as the initial appeal of it suggests it should be.

Reviews:

USA – TIME Magazine by Christopher Thompson

Trying to rehabilitate the public image of skinheads is no easy task. Judging by Hollywood's take on the genre — see 1998's American History X or Russell Crowe in 1992's Romper Stomper — skinheads are popularly portrayed as neo-Nazi racists with a penchant for violent thuggery. Not so, contends Shane Meadows, the young British director whose new film, provocatively entitled This is England, is raising eyebrows in its exposé of this most controversial of subcultures.

Meadows, who admits to once being a "skin" himself, argues that skinheads were amongst Britain's first anti-racists, mixing with newly arrived waves of West Indian immigrants with whom they indulged a mutual love of reggae and ska. Hailing from a staunchly working-class background, Meadows, 35, dropped out of school as a teenager and later made his first films while subsisting on welfare benefits in his native Nottingham. He hit critical acclaim with his 1999 second feature, A Room for Romeo Brass, set in a Yorkshire mining town on the skids.

Meadows contends that it was only during the 1980s that the skinhead movement became infected by the Far Right, a collection of neo-fascist political parties, led by the infamous National Front, which called for the forced repatriation of immigrants. With the decline of British manufacturing and the onset of high unemployment, many working-class skins, whose communities bore the brunt of the new arrivals from abroad, became seduced by the promises of anti-immigrant politicians.

So begins Meadows' film, set in Uttoxeter, the heart of Britain's former industrial midlands. It's 1983 and this declining seaside town is fired up on royal weddings and Thatcherism. A brown-skinned local businessman occasionally has to deal with racist slogans spray-painted outside his shop, but it's a world away from the violent anti-immigrant demonstrations taking place elsewhere in the country.

Shaun (played the excellent actor Thomas Turgoose) is a solitary 12 year-old who, when not being teased about his oversized bell-bottoms, has taken to wandering by himself on a deserted beach ever since the death of his father in the Falklands War. He meets Woody — the friendly head of a local skinhead gang who take Shaun under their wing — and suddenly life starts looking up. Shaun collects friends and protectors, has fun smashing up derelict houses and even scores an older girlfriend.

Meadows' lingering camera shots over the local school playground filled with different gangs — Mods, Rockers, New Romantics — gives an anthropological feel to his study, almost like watching a National Geographic documentary on British youth tribalism. But it's clear where Meadows' own working-class allegiance lies: following Woody's skins strutting through alleyways, apropos of Reservoir Dogs, in drainpipe jeans, checkered shirts and Doc Marten boots.

But the good times can't last. When macho skinhead Combo (played by a snarling Stephen Graham) turns up at a party, fresh out of jail, things are about to go awry. Quickly the alpha Combo sets about ousting Woody with a classic divide-and-rule speech about the need for "proud warriors" to defend England's green and pleasant land. Having then established himself as a surrogate father to Shaun, Woody drags the remaining members of the gang, after several desertions, to a fascist National Front rally.

Typically, Meadows probes deeper than simple black-white characterizations, even eliciting a quiet sympathy for the fearsome Combo when, during an intimate conversation with Shaun, he hints at being abandoned by his own father. Nevertheless our gaze is averted when the once sweet-and-fragile Shaun starts to change, first daubing racist abuse around the town's walkways and then terrorizing a "Paki" newsagent in emulation of his new mentor. Our fears are confirmed: Shaun has been transformed into a neo-Nazi foot soldier in-the-making.

Throughout the film Meadows deals deftly with the cultural confusions of the skinhead movement, whose members' bedrooms — replete with vintage posters of blaxploitation flicks and ska-music icons — attest to the influence of foreigners, and of Jamaicans in particular.

Combo admits as much himself when he attempts to befriend the only black member of Woody's gang — the cheekily named Milky — reminiscing about how, when he joined the "original" skinheads back in the late 1960s, they all stood proud under the banner of racial unity. When Milky begins to talk about his extended family, Combo's eyes well-up. Half-ashamed, half-envious of what he misses most, Combo is poised on a knife-edge before the film turns toward its hideous, and inevitable, climax.

Drawing from a rich tradition of British cinematic realism, which includes directors like Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, the film has sparked controversy in its native land. England has long prided itself as an island of tolerance and freedom for newcomers, and detractors claim that Meadows' focus on an unpopular war — the film is inter-spliced with Falklands' footage — together with anti-immigrant racism lends undue emphasis to the seamier side of the country's recent past. A Sunday Times review by critic Cosmo Landesman dismissed the film's portrayal of 1980s (predominantly) white-working class as "unconvincing," railing against a "fatuous" attempt to link the war in the Falklands with the one that Combo wants to fight back in England.

Meadows' attempt to humanize skinheads is a world away from the knee-jerk negative characterizations that informed cinema's previous depictions of the subculture as uniformly racist and violent. While it may be true that far-right parties no longer play any part in Britain's mainstream political discourse, other extremist movements are rising in Europe. And with the invasion of Iraq and rise in Islam phobia, Meadows suggests that ‘This is England’ could be as much a warning for England's present as it is a depiction of its past

British – The Guardian review by Peter Bradshaw

Shane Meadows continues his fast and fluent film-making career with this quasi-autobiographical picture about skinheads: a movie with hints of Alan Clarke's Made in Britain and, in its final image, the haunted disenchantment of Truffaut's The 400 Blows. It is a sad, painful and sometimes funny story from the white working classes of 1980s Britain; the cannon-fodder caste alienated from Falklands rejoicing on the home front and not invited to participate in the nation's promised service-economy prosperity.

Meadows boldly attempts to reclaim the skinhead from the traditional neo-Nazi image, explicitly distinguishing his characters from a separate racist influence, and presenting them as an anarchic youth tribe that idolised West Indian music. He sees their susceptibility to the extremist right as a poignant and even tragic part of their fatherless culture, literally and figuratively orphaned by the times.

There's a winning lead performance from 13-year-old newcomer Thomas Turgoose playing a put-upon lad called Shaun in the run-down Grimsby of 1983. His dad was a serviceman killed in the Falklands and he's perennially getting picked on for this, and for his horrible flared jeans which make him look, as one bully cruelly puts it, like Keith Chegwin's son. Sloping and moping his way home after a standard-issue school day of humiliation, Shaun gets waylaid by some skins in a dodgy underpass, but instead of yet more battering, the gang gives him sympathy and understanding; they become Shaun's only friends, and with a new Ben Sherman shirt and number one cut, Shaun has new pride and a new identity.

The gang's leader is Woody - a cheerful, sparky performance from Joe Gilgun - and they have an African-Caribbean member facetiously nicknamed Milky, played by Meadows regular Andrew Shim; Shaun even finds romance with one of the group's girl-punk fellow travelers: a languid and rather elegant older woman called Smell (Rosamund Hanson) who earnestly explains to Shaun's mum that she is called that simply because it rhymes with Michelle. The idyll is soon destroyed with the highly unwelcome appearance of Combo, a ferocious and sinister skin warrior just out of prison, played by Stephen Graham. He demands the group join his National Front cell, and turn out for an NF meeting in a tatty pub, addressed by one of the movement's suit-wearing officer class, played in cameo by Frank Harper.

Turgoose is the picture's heart and soul, and it's a terrifically natural, easy and commanding performance. Turgoose's open face radiates charm, and then, when he goes over to the dark side of racism, a creepy, anti-cherubic scorn: almost like one of the little blond kids in Village of the Damned. But Meadows is always concerned to preserve a sympathetic core to Shaun, and in fact to all the skins. Even the deeply objectionable Combo is shown to be suffering from emotional pain.

Like Meadows' earlier pictures, Dead Man's Shoes and A Room for Romeo Brass, This Is England is about younger, vulnerable figures being taken under the wing of older, flawed men, and this personal theme here finds its richest and maturest expression yet. As to whether we should buy its implied leniency about skinhead culture: that is another question. The West Indian influence is advanced as proof that skins were not necessarily racist: yet it can't cancel out Combo's hate campaign against South Asians, the "Pakis" who "smell of curry", a campaign which goes quite unchallenged or even unremarked upon by any of the skins, good or bad.

The skinhead identity is, after all, obviously supposed to be more aggressive than that of other tribes: I remember as a 10-year-old cowering on the terraces of Watford football club in the early 70s, as the Luton boot boys got stuck in, and my father grimly telling me that the reason they shaved their heads that way was so the coppers couldn't grab them by the hair. Whether or not that is true, it certainly made the wearer's head look like a big, third clenched fist. And it's still difficult to get a handle on them.

Meadows appears to want to find emotional truths behind the bravado, to find reasons for the male rage. It's a valid quest, and there are telling and touching moments, particularly between Turgoose and Rosamund Hanson. I found myself wishing that their love story could occupy more of the film, maybe for the same reason that the Shane Meadows film I have enjoyed most is the one his real fans loathe: the comedy Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. But from the get-go of this drama, it is obvious that things are heading only one way: towards a climactic flourish of violence, and it's a glum business wondering to whom and from whom this is going to happen. This is a violent subject, and these are violent people, and yet I couldn't help feeling that Meadows is, as so often, more comfortable with machismo than with the humour and gentleness which play a smaller, yet intensely welcome part of his movies. However agnostic I confess to still feeling about his work, there's no doubt that Meadows is a real film-maker with a growing and evolving career, and with his own natural cinematic language. When I think of his films, I think, for good or ill: this is English cinema.

Gold Standard:

According to the Gold Standard Rule 16 points in various categories are needed for a film to pass for tax relief, and also what defines a truly British film!

A Cultural Content
A1	Film Set in the UK	Yes	4/4
A2	Lead Characters Citizens or residents of the UK	Yes	4/4
A3	Film Based on British subject matter or underlying material	Yes	4/4
A4	Original dialogue recorded mainly in the English language	Yes	4/4
B Cultural Contribution
B1	Film represents/reflects a diverse British Culture, British heritage or British creativity	Yes	4/4
C Cultural Hubs
C1	Studio and/or location shooting/visual effects/special effects	Yes	2/2
C2	Music recording/audio post production/picture post production	Yes	1/1
D Cultural Practitioners
D1	Director	Yes	1/1
D2	Scriptwriter	Yes	1/1
D3	Producer	Yes	1/1
D4	Composer	No	0/1
D5	Lead Actors	Yes	1/1
D6	Majority of Cast	Yes	1/1
D7	Key Staff: lead cinematographer, lead production designer, lead costume designer, lead editor, lead sound designer, lead visual effects supervisor, lead hair and make-up supervisor	Yes	1/1
D8	Majority of Crew	Yes	1/1
Total:		30/31

‘This is England’ is most definitely defined as a British Film, and is entitled to the full tax relief from ‘The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’.

Movie Connection:

The themes running throughout ‘This is England’ are of racism/ethnic hatred, emotional loss, misconceptions of stereotypes (Skinheads), bullying, gangs, grubby urban locations, prison, family and friend relationships, and political unrest. Other films with themes like this include, American History X – Skinheads/Gangs, Racism, bullying, relationships, prison etc. Green Street – gangs/skinheads, aggression, prison etc. Boyz ‘n’ the hood – Crime, gangs, police, relationships etc. Football factory - Gangs, racism and bullying.

Awards:

‘This is England’ won 8 awards and was nominated for another 14 these were in chronological order:

In 2006 at the ‘British Independent Film Award’ it won the ‘Best British Independent film’ and ‘Most promising Newcomer (On Screen)’ for Thomas Turgoose. It was also nominated for ‘Best Director’ (Shane Meadows), ‘Best Screenplay’ (Shane Meadows), ‘Best Supporting Actor/Actress’ (Joseph Gilgun), ‘Best Supporting Actor/Actress’ (Stephen Graham), and ‘Best Technical Achievement’ (Ludovico Einaudi).

Also in 2006 at the ‘London Film Festival’ it won the ‘UK Film Talent Award’ for the Producer Mark Herbert.

In 2007 at the ‘Bangkok International Film Festival’ the film was nominated for the ‘Golden Kinnaree Award’ (Best Film).

On top of this it was also nominated for the ‘Grand Prix’ award at ‘Flanders International Film Festival’.

Also in 2007 it won the ‘Young Audience Award’ at the ‘Gijόn International Film Festival’.

In Addition to this it won the ‘Best Director Award’ at the Newport International Film Festival.

In 2008 ‘This is England’ won the ‘BAFTA Film Award’ for ‘Best British Film’ and was nominated for ‘Best screenplay’.

At the ‘Empire Awards, UK’ it was nominated for ‘Best British Film’ and also ‘Best Newcomer’ for Thomas Turgoose.

On top of this it was nominated for the ‘Best Independent Poster Award’ at the ‘Golden Trailer Awards’.

Also in 2008 it was Nominated at the ‘London Critics Circle Film Awards’ for ‘British Breakthrough in acting’ for Thomas Turgoose, ‘British Director of the Year’ for Shane Meadows, and ‘British Film of the Year’.

Finally in 2008 ‘This is England’ won ‘Best European Film’ and ‘Young European Jury Award’ at the ‘Mons International Festival of Love Films’.

Other Shane Meadows Films:

Shane Meadows in comparison with someone like Steven Spielberg has been involved in making very few films and out of these films ‘This is England’ is by far his most popular and biggest film so far, however he has tried his hand at lots of different jobs like: Directing, Producing, Writing, Acting, Editing, etc. the full list of his other films can be seen below:

Director

Somers Town (2008)

This is England (2006)

The Stairwell (2005)

Northern Soul (2004)

Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)

Small Time (1996)

Where’s the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Writer

This is England (2006)

The Stairwell (2005)

Northern Soul (2004)

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)
... aka TwentyFourSeven

Small Time (1996/II)

Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Actor

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)

Small Time (1996)

Where’s the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Editor

Northern Soul (2004)

Where’s the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Producer

Small Time (1996)

Where’s the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Cinematographer

Where’s the Money, Ronnie? (1996)

Outlets/Exhibition:

The film is currently out on DVD, and was shown recently on Channel 4 after the 9 o’clock watershed. When it was first released it was shown in the local area at an independent cinema called Cinema City.

Information collected from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/

Our Thriller

Themes

To follow with the Thriller genre our themes that we are trying to achieve include; Corruption, deception and betrayal shown in the opening scene with the double cross performed by Smith on John Vanik by shooting him after the drop, crime is conveyed by the covert operation they are carrying out in the car park, and the entire urban city being grimy and corrupt is also shown throughout by the car park and also the city scape we are going to shoot.

Style

We are going to try and convey the style of Crime in a slick and professional manner to reflect the character of Smith and the circles he travels in, this is going to be quite hard as the equipment we have is not very good quality, so we have to use the tripod as often as possible because it keeps the camera steady, still and focused. We do not want to use much handheld camera as it becomes very shaky and unslick.

Sub-genre

seeing as how we are making a thriller the usual subgenres for thrillers are: crime, betrayal, murder, and gangster all of these appear during one stage or another of our thriller opening

Ronin Directed by John Frankenheimer and Focusing on the Opening Sequence

As you can see from the trailer above, 'Ronin' directed by John Frankenheimer, is an action packed, humorous thriller with an all star cast. There is no wonder really why this is one of my favorite films and also why i have picked this film to be part of my blog. Another reason is that it exhibits so many thriller signifier's and is so full of mystery and intrigue that it is great to analyse for this subject. On top of this the opening sequence is brilliant, so is great to gain inspiration from for our thriller. The DVD box quotes the tag line for the film as being 'Loyalty is bought, betrayal is a way of life...' this tells a little of what to expect and also shows one of the thriller signifiers of twists, corruption and betrayal.

Before the establishing shot there is an epigraph that tells the tale of lone, masterless Samurai named 'Ronin' which explains why the film is named thus and also implies that the characters or main character is a merciless, live wire, who goes where they will and does not like taking orders. The film name then appears after the epigraph about Samurai and the title is written in black on a striking red background as if handwritten which connotes bloodshed and a personal vendetta. Already the audience has got great expectations of the film - they definitely will not be disappointed, in my opinion.

The opening sequence exhibits a great many thriller signifiers, whilst also introducing the main characters and using pathetic fallacy to intensify the feeling of danger, mystery and secretiveness. With the setting being at night time indicating the covertness of the operation and adding an opportunity to contrast the bright light from windows and street lamps with the blackness of the night, which is very effective when Robert De Niro hides in a pitch black doorway and peers into the light where his face is only partially visible (Chiaroscuro lighting), in addition to this the weather is miserable, continually raining, thus adding to the sense of dank, dark and illegality. Furthermore the establishing shot that shows that the setting is Paris, also depicts a maze of small, black cobbled streets that reflect the white light of windows due to the continual rain, besides this they symbolise the many twists and turns the plot takes like all thrillers do.

Panning down from the establishing shot of Paris, the camera focuses on a man (Robert De Niro) walking down a hill, this cuts to a close-up tracking shot of that man so the audience walk alongside him and can get a good look at him wearing a trench coat (generic thriller quality) and a flat cap that do not really cast great shadows over his face as you would expect, but instead it would seem that the director wants you to know what he looks like and that he is played by Robert De Niro. The character shows his secretiveness in a different manner and whilst walking down the hill he slows and walks into the shadows of a doorway, where you can only partially see his face, the other half being cast in darkness, peering round the corner at someone or something on the road below the hill. We can tell from these few shots that the narrative structure will be from De Niro's point of View because we see these very first events through his eyes.

Japanese type music, that fits with the opening sequence of sentences that introduced the name 'Ronin', sounds like a heartbeat to intensify the sense of Sam (De Niro's character) being so calm, as the heartbeat beat continues in the same manner the music builds on itself adding more instruments to make the surroundings seem more dangerous, as it cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot of what Sam is looking at (we are in his shoes); a car on the road which stops outside a pub and then it cuts to a mid-shot of an attractive woman (femme fatale another thriller signifier) getting out, saying something to the driver and then a tracking shot following her as she walks into the bar and we watch as the door closes behind her. Why was De Niro hiding from her? (mystery and intrigue). The camera then flashes back to the shot of De Niro watching the street as if he is waiting for something.

In the bar the music builds and falls as we meet more and more of the main characters in mid-shots, introducing them to the audience; a man looking inquisitively at the woman who is working behind the bar and who we later find out is called Larry, the woman herself who we later find out is called Deirdre. Jean Reno is now introduced to the audience with a tracking shot alongside as he walks up to the pub's entrance, this shot is more interesting than that though for two people walk in front of the camera as it is tracking and when they exit the shot Reno seems to have skipped a few paces and is already at the door although he was not walking that quickly. This shot seems to have been designed to put the audience off guard and to prove that nothing is what it seems, also this shot is longer than the introductions to Larry and the woman showing that Reno's character Vincent bears more importance.

When Reno is ordering beer in the bar where the non-degetic music is still rhythmic but has gone back to the steady beat like a heart. There is an over-Vincent's-shoulder shot from the side so you can see the woman and in between them both Larry is framed sitting in a chair smoking next to a no smoking sign showing that he pays little heed to what he is told and looking from one to the other so they are obviously not here by accident, but the opening still has me asking: Who are all these people? What is going on? And why are they there?

A worms eye view shot brings us back to De Niro walking down the final steps to the front of the bar where he looks enquiringly at the menu and we can hear the diegetic noise of the light in the pub's window until it goes out and we track beside him when he walks round the back of the bar until he disappears out of sight, showing that he knows his way round and has maybe been scouting the place out. A cut to a shot of a wet, narrow, cobbled street with stairs at the end that Sam walks down the it cuts to a close up of his face, which leads us into a panning shot of the street from his point of view, looking back and forth as if we were the eyes in his head, this gives the audience a unique perspective into someone else's head to process what they are seeing and to get them very familiar with the character, so much so that they are standing in his shoes.

A close up of him walk into the street and down it a little way and in the background there is a window, through it we can see vaguely see Deirdre although they are all steamed up. It would seem from this shot that either she is the orchestrator in all this as she bears great significance in most of the shots or she is a later love interest as seen through misty glass by Sam. He turns and walks back the other way as the smooth camera tracks with him to a stack of bottle crates next to the back door to the pub, we then see an extreme close-up of him taking out a gun and from a high vantage point over his shoulder we see him hide it behind the crates. The extreme close-up of the gun shows how significant it is to him and how dangerous he is. As he is hiding the gun this would suggest that all the people in the pub are dangerous and that if he is expecting trouble he knows where to go even if they search him they wont find a gun until he retrieves it.

Pulp Fiction Opening

The opening scene of this film is strange compared to the other ones I have analyzed because this is not part of the story line to the film, until the very end where the characters appear again in another restaurant robbery. The opening is told through the narrative of a couple sitting in an American diner drinking coffee, the opening gets the audience more involved as there is no music being played only diegetic noise can be heard.

Before the action starts, there is an epigraph, like that in 'Ronin' it explains the meaning of the name with a dictionary interpretation of the word Pulp. It also gives us an indication of what the film is like when it says 'a magazine or book containing lurid subject matter and being characteristically printed on rough, unfinished paper' suggesting that this film is vivid, shocking with the characters and settings being rough and untamed. This added with the first scene reinforces those thoughts.

From the black screen with the dictionary definition the camera cuts to a shot of two people a man and a woman sitting in an American diner. the camera is placed at the end of the table so the lurid orange chairs can be seen and so the two people are seen talking to one another, in front of a large window with slatted blinds (thriller signifier). The two people are talking about doing something risky when their conversation is cut short and we see a close-up shot of a waitress's face asking if they want more coffee this distracts from the conversation and is quite a jumpy shot designed to make the audience feel insecure and unsafe. The next shot is from the point of view of the man looking at the woman opposite and the waitress's hand in between pouring the coffee. The woman he is looking at appears dreamy and angelic, showing his love and care for her.

It then returns to the original shot used at the end of the table to create the full picture as the waitress stops pouring and we see her midriff walk past the screen. The topic of conversation has progressed to robbing banks so the characters are slowly revealing what they were mysteriously talking about earlier. We see the woman from the man's point of view as a mid shot of her at the other side of the table makes it feel as if she is asking the audience 'You wanna rob banks?', however the audience is now detached from the action as the narrative keeps swapping when they are talking with simple mid shots from each others point of view as they ask and answer questions. this effect is to get the audience interested in what the people are saying but not to get them too involved with the characters because they are not the main protagonists.

The shots become more sophisticated now with an over the shoulder shot looking at the man talking about the phone and the bank and then an over-the-shoulder shot behind the man looking at her response that she does not wish to kill as she lays her head on the table she is almost childlike. there is now an added zoom on the first over the shoulder shot to emphasize that the man is saying he will kill if he has to, also the slow zoom keeps all focus on him as if he is all the woman wants and has in the world.

The next shot shows the point of view as if you were sitting behind them both, in another booth, and taking an objective view of the couple yourself. We are back to the recurring shot from the start where we see them both clearly from the end of the table and a waitress walks past; we hear her speak and we watch her midriff walk past but that is it. The couple carry on talking and the narrative is swapping again from the woman's to the mans point of view as we see what they see when they are being asked and answering questions. This technique is very unusual, Tarantino has used it purposefully to make sure the audience do not get to involved with either one of the characters and also to symbolise that these two come as a pair and they do not work alone.

As the action gets closer the shots get a little faster with the first being that of an extreme close-up of a gun slammed on the table by the man which is the first sign of real danger from the couple. Then a close-up intimate shot of them kissing over the table top in front of the slatted blinds suggests the adrenaline they are feeling and their urgency at their proposed task. From a long shot of the table we watch in the point of view of a customer as the man jumps on to the chair waving a gun as the view pans up and shouting 'This is a robbery'. This is the last shot as the woman walks to the forefront of the shot shouting shrilly that no one should move lest they be shot, her voice is scary leaving the audience with the feeling that they want to get out of there as the customers are probably feeling as well. The shot stands still and 'Pump it' by the Black Eyed Peas starts playing in a kick ass manner with its fast pace and jumpy tune keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. as the credits roll.

Chinatown (Roman Polanski)

Chinatown directed by Roman Polanski, exhibits the many thriller signifier's that makes this film so brilliant to analyse for my blog. For example the male protagonist (Gittes), is an flawed hero as he smokes and drinks. He also becomes very confused with his emotions and with the messages he recieves off other people, like when he sleeps with Ms Mulwray, getting involved where he shouldn't making himself vulnerable.

Ms Mulwray acts as the femme fatale associated with the thriller genre, she is mysterious, sexy and not entirely what she seems. Her dangerousness is shown by her bright red lips, however to decieve the audience she also seems very respectable and trustworthy with her smart 50's style, fitted clothes with a necklace of pearls, this misleads the audience into thinking she is reliable but when the story unravels it makes the impact of her betrayal and mystery even more surprising and alarming. This idea of double-cross fits in with the theme of corruption or deception that make the thriller genre.

The spiralling and twisting narrative, shown in the trailer above, is made even more tangible by the mise-en-scene, with its narrowing corridors that seem to lead on forever (use of vanishing points), the chiroscuro lighting notably in the office due to the slatted blinds, this provides us with silhouettes of people and being unable to distinguish who they are adding to the mystery and intrigue, also characters are able to hide in the dark with builds suspense as you have no idea who may be watching. The tall city buildings add a sense of being overwhelmed on top of the sense of Claustrophobia caused by the camera angles inside the cars making them look trapped and the way Ms Mulwray becomes physcologically trapped by her horrible father.

Miller's Crossing Opening scene

Here is the theatrical trailer to Millers crossing, it shows the basic concept of the gang life theme and of double cross between so called friends, this type of theme is rife in the thriller genre due to the amount of chances to show twists and corruptions in the plot. I was influenced a lot by this film in relation to our own thriller opening as you can probably tell.

The opening scene to Miller's Crossing is told through the narrative of the characters Leo and Tom (the main protagonist). This film also seems to be filmed with a brown filter on it so everything seems dirty and sleazy, which is one of its many thriller signifiers.

The first shot is a close-up of ice being thrown into a glass and slowly zooming out to see a bottle pouring what looks like whiskey into it, this introduces us the main habit of our male protagonist (flawed hero thriller signifier), drinking. We can hear someone talking continuously in the background, showing that he is nervous although we cannot yet see the man talking. Cut to the man talking now sitting in front of a wooden desk in a long brown coat talking directly to the audience as we are seeing him (Johnny Caspar) through Leo's eyes behind the desk. The is another slow zoom from the mid-shot of Johnny to a close-up of his face adding significance and importance to his speech about the man he wants killed (Bernie). There is a man standing in the background holding a glass of drink presumably the one from the beginning shot but he is out of focus (mystery) and there is another man standing next to Johnny of whom we can merely see his midriff in a black coat holding a hat. This man looks like a henchman of Johnny's and looks very dangerous and evil dressed all in black and very tall. This characterization is what i gained inspiration for Smith from.

Next we see the man he is addressing (Leo) dressed in grey which contrasts with the brown and black of the other two symbolizing that the other two play dirty but he is in charge because he is fair and powerful, this amplifies what Johnny is saying about fixing bets and the double cross of Bernie who he wants dead. In addition to this Leo is sitting sideways on to show that he is in charge and does not need to show full respect to the other man, plus they are in Leo's territory so Johnny and The Dane (man in black/henchman) can not harm him.

The man with the drink (Tom Reagan) walks to behind the desk with Leo, we see him walk blurred up from behind Johnny's chair then we only see his midriff lean against the wall behind Leo, this shows us who he is allied with and the two sides on opposing sides of the table. The sides are shown with the shots switching between mid-shots of both top gangsters with their men standing behind them as they discuss Bernie.

The first shot we see of Tom is a head and shoulder shot when Johnny is talking about trust. he seems to have spaced out a bit and does not seem interested in what is being said, but is staring at the floor as if his mind is on other things. When anarchy is mentioned by Johnny we get a mid-shot of The Dane, who is wearing all black and a trilby hat that is covering the top of his face as he is looking down, but at the sound of the word anarchy he lifts his head so that the rim of his hat is just above his eyes and he smirks. From this we can tell that he is not a good nice person but instead enjoys the thought of chaos and panic. This slightest piece of movement seems to wake Tom up and he looks at The Dane with complete contempt and disgust.

A low vantage shot showing The Dane and Johnny together as a pair/team. This shot makes the Dane look extremely tall but with chubby Johnny in the forefront of the shot it is obvious that he is his boss, although it makes the audience not trust The Dane. In addition to this it shows that Johnny Caspar has got too big for Leo's liking and too powerful. The next shot frames Leo and Tom in it at Leo's height when sitting down. This is a balanced shot but Leo is in the forefront so he is in charge and is of a higher station than Tom, although compared to The Dane and Johnny there is a big gap between Leo and Tom showing that Tom does not belong to Leo they are just friends not co-workers like Johnny and The Dane.

When Johnny loses his temper later in the scene he jumps up and leans forward on the desk in a rage, we see this from Leo's point of view seeing him from across the desk then tilting the camera slightly up to see his whole red angry face. You can see The Dane in the background all blurry not moving a muscle, showing that he is very cool and collected.
An over-the-shoulder shot behind Johnny can see Leo's reaction to this outburst as just being blank faced and not interested.

When it looks like Johnny is going to far The Dane steps in and touches his shoulder to tell him to calm down. All of these factors added together make the audience think that Leo is going to burst, although he seems calm he is obviously bottling it all up and this makes us think that Leo is going to shoot him. However Johnny stands up puts on a hat and leaves. All this time the camera is sitting in Leo's chair watching them walk to the door when Leo says something and we get a close-up of Johnny and The Dane's reaction being sarcastic.

As of yet Tom Reagan has not yet spoke even though he is the main protagonist this keeps his character mysterious, but due to Gabriel Byrne being a great actor he conveys all his thoughts through his actions. This film is full of thriller signifiers here are just a few:

• Slatted blinds in Leo's office
• Femme fatale - Verna by Marcia Gay Harden
• Corruption - the police are run by Leo
• Betrayal - Tom sleeps with Verna who is with Leo
• Double cross - Bernie
• Flawed hero - Tom is an alcoholic, gambler
• Vanishing points - Scene in the forest with the road fading into the distance
• twists and turns in the plot everywhere
  
• Mystery - who killed the man with the wig

Our Thriller Synopsis

The opening of the film that we have been planning and will perform begins with a very professional experienced gangster, ‘Smith’ carrying out an illegal deal with a man, John Doe, who just so happens to be the son of the boss (who we never see till the end) from a large criminal organisation. They attempt to swap briefcases whilst John Doe is rambling arrogantly to Smith, receiving only a passive face in return, this builds the tension along with the flashing images of a gun being loaded, by an anonymous gloved hand. At the beginning of this opening we follow John Doe through the building of the car park listening to his thoughts through an internal monologue, by listening to this we get an insight into his character as an arrogant, over confident idiot, this is why Smith shoots him. However the audience watching the first scene will not know who shoots who as in the end of the opening the screen will go black and you will hear a gun shot to show it is the end of this scene, this adds the mystery and intrigue needed in a thriller film.
The act of murdering John Doe in the first scene ignites a war between Smith who works alone and the gang of the dead mans father. Smith who evades all The Boss’s attempts to kill him but gets seriously wounded by a rogue bullet takes himself to the only person he trusts and the only person who knows his name an old friend from his childhood called Myles Price who removes the bullet and patches him up (like in Ronin by John Frankenheimer). However it appears the Boss has had him followed as many of his cronies turn up at Myles’s house and during the fight that ensues Myles is shot leaving the impression on the audience and Smith that he is dead Smith flees.
After this Smith is out for revenge and becomes even more ruthless and efficient at killing. On torturing many of The Boss’s men which leads him on a path leaving behind a trail of corpses (like in Man on Fire by Tony Scott) he discovers what building and the room in a high rise wealthy building in London where only the best of The Boss’s men are allowed as many of the men The Boss employs have no idea who he is. Smith sets up a sniper rifle on the roof of the building next to the Boss’s lair. (This is an excellent opportunity to get some nice footage through the sniper target finder). Through the shot finder we see a man's (The Boss’s) back, he turns round but we never see his face and it switches to a shot of surprise on Smith’s face. He expertly and quickly packs away his gun and we watch him from above run down the internal staircase of the high rise building. Smith enters the Boss’s Lair quickly killing the security guards and we see him walk (fast) down a long corridor (vanishing points – signifies the long road he has taken to get to this point) he bursts into the room he has just been looking at through the rifle. We see an over the shoulder shot of Smith holding a gun at the man in the chair who we can only see the back of and we then hear a little chuckle coming from the man in the chair (wearing really expensive suit) we hear the man talking to smith about that’s the way the world works and how elusive Smith has proven to be, whilst saying this he gets up and walks around the room to a bottle and pours two drinks whilst all the time smith is pointing the gun at his head. The man finishes talking and the audience see that The Boss is actually Myles!
Sitting back down smith starts to talk saying that he never really did know who Myles was and on hearing this Myles reveals that he found out who Smith was after years of digging and that the whole deal (from the beginning was a set up and that John Doe was not actually his son but that the storyline gave him an excellent chance to kill Smith and he is about to explain who Smith is and why he wants him dead when Smith Shoots him in the head and we see him walk back down the corridor and we hear an internal monologue talking directly to the audience saying that he could not have us knowing who he really was (like in Layer Cake by Matthew Vaughn), then on come the credits after a shot of him looking directly at the camera, like it is a person, this involves the audience and makes it clear that he is talking to us.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is almost always used in films and when it isnt it is designed to unsettle the audience or add confusion. The Rule of Thirds involves the positioning of people and objects in the shot, which can affect the signiuficance or meaning of the scene and by undoing the rule of thirds you make the audience feel uneasy. Here are a few examples of the rule of thirds in different films:

This shot from 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Rob Marshall is an excellent representation of the Rule of Thirds. Her white face contained in the middle of the frame and her black hair in the outside thirds keeps the focus on her face and shows how pale and beautiful she is.

Here is another shot just like the last where the most important character is encapsulated in the middle section of the shot like in this shot from the film 'Jackie Brown' by Quentin Tarantino this draws the audiences attention towards the main character and keeps the audience enthralled.

The shot from 'The Green Mile' by Frank Darabont is a perfect example of how the rule of thirds is used to emphasise a point or theme, in this shot the character John Coffey played by Michael Clarke Duncan is shown as the huge powerful man he is towering over the other two, however his weakness is also shown by the fact that he is being held prisoner and how there are two men on either side of him cornering him. Another example of this is the shot from 'Memoirs of a Geisha' showing all three main character each within a third representing the middle character as stuck in the middle and in between the two, also this shot frames the three characters perfectly.

The picture above taken from 'Resevoir Dogs' by Quentin Tarantino is a more interesting version of the shots above as it is a worms eye view which leaves the audience wondering who is looking up at the three men adding mystery and intrigue.

This shot from 'Millers Crossing' by the Coen Brothers shows two characters both standing on the lines of the thirds making this shot balanced and at ease which reflects the time in the film which is at the end where they are civil again and comfortable as all the danger has passed.

This shot also from 'Resevoir Dogs' is really interesting because the man standing is on the line of the third and then the man lying down is over the last two thirds with the two guns crossing over and held in the middle third which grabs the audiences attention to the significance of this shot.

I absolutely love this shot from 'Pulp Fiction' by Quentin Tarantino because Samuel. L. Jackson and John Tavolta are in the middle and right thirds with the guns pointing out of the screen in the left third, this adds a touch of mystery and intrigue as we do not know who they are about to shoot, and also unbalances the frame having the effect of making the audience uneasy and tense.
This is also another of my favorite shots from one of my favourite films 'The Silence of the Lambs' by Jonathan Demme, exhibits the rule of thirds perfectly with the bars in the foreground and Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins) perfectly in the middle thirds this layout draws the audiences eye in from the outside of the screen down the bar lines and to his creepy, sinister face.
Talking of his sinister, scary face, in close-up shots the rule of thirds does not need to be applied or noticed as the full attention of the audience is on the characters and their emotions especially in this scene because the face mask makes him look even more intriguing and menacing.

Finally during the film this shot is used whilst the credits are rolling as she is walking down a long corridor and having her on the edge of the scene in the last third lets us follow her journey as we can see a little bit ahead of her and where she is about to tread.

Media Studies Questionairre

Audience research questionnaire

Please tick the following bullet points, tick more than one if you wish:

-Occupation: .................................

-Student: .........................................

-Working: ………………………

Generally how many films do you watch a month?

-0-1

-2-3

-4-5

-6+

What type of films do you generally prefer?

-Mainstream Hollywood

-American

-British

-Foreign

Where do you prefer to watch films?

-Home

-Cinema

-Independent cinema

-Other: ……………

How do you normally find out about new and upcoming films?

-Trailers at the cinema

-Trailers on the TV

-Posters

-TV shows

-Internet

-Radio

-Word of mouth

From which source do you prefer to learn the news?

-TV

-Radio

-Newspaper

-Magazine

-Internet

-Other: …………..

From which source do you generally listen to new music?

-Radio

-TV

-Internet

-Other: …………..

On average, how often do you listen to the radio?

-Daily

-3-5 times a week

-Less than 3 times a week

-Never

What is your favourite:

-Film: ……………………………………………………………………

-Actor: …………………………………………………………………..

-Actress: …………………………………………………………………

-Director: ………………………………………………………………..

-Scene in a film: …………………………………………………………

-TV programme: ………………………………………………………..

-Radio channel: …………………………………………………………

-Band/Artist: ……………………………………………………………

What is your favourite thriller film?

…………………………………………………………………………………..

What are the reasons for this? Please mention at least three

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

In your opinion, which thriller film has the best opening sequence that you have seen?

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Why is this?

…………………………………………………………………………………..

In your opinion, what must the opening sequence of a good thriller film do or have?

-Immediately pull the viewer into the film

-Introduce the main characters

-Stylish credits

-Clever directing/ editing

-Lots of action straight away

-Slow paced editing/ development of the narrative

-A good soundtrack

-Mystery and Intrigue

Anything else you can think of: ………………………………………