3 Film Analysis'

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank redemption is a gripping, upsetting, heartwarming and clever film. It focuses on a man named Andy Dufresne played by Tim Robbins, after being sentenced to two life sentenes at Shawshank Prison. The beginning of a film shows Andy's court case and flash backs to the night he is convicted of killing his wife and her lover and it is unclear wether he may have killed her or not. However the evidence points towards the fact that he did and after being sentenced, we believe this. The course of the film shows Andy's struggle within the first two years and failure to make any sort of friends, giving a bleak and depressing tone to the film as he struggles with every day prison life. After the first two years, Andy meets 'Red' played by Morgan Freeman who is a man 'who can get things', meaning he is able to smuggle certain items in and out of the prison through his connections. Andy and Red strike up a friendship and the film sees this take course, showing how Andy builds stronger as a character, as well as others he has become acquainted to within the prison. As a popular prisoner, Andy is trusted by the guards and head of Shawshank prison, this trust throughout the film allows Andy to plan his escape which we as an audience are completely unaware of. Near the end of the film, it is revealed that Andy had been executing his escape plan for the entire duration of his prison stay until he broke free, resulting in a heartwarming ending that has been recognised in cinematic history. Frank Darabont, the director of this film, uses a contrast of light and dark lighting to reflect the mood of the film. Often, when Andy is associated with being in a negative state, the dark lighting is used, at other times, like when he first meets Red, natural or soft lighting is used to create a more positive tone. The film uses many birds-eye view shots at the beginning to emphasise the sheer size of the prison and how alone Andy Dufresne feels, however as the film takes its course, this is shown less as he develops closer relations. Darabont uses a variety of close up shots for each character to reveal their true emotions fully but also long shots to show traits of their personality from a distance and how they stand out - such as Andy when he first arrives, he is the character of main focus and is extremely tall compared to other prisoners around him who are fairly short. The effect of this is that the main attention is on him, so the viewer can focus solely on how he is feeling at that precise moment in time.

Enduring Love

Enduring Love is a film adaptation of the book written by author Ian McEwan. It is a romantic thriller based around the homosexual obsession of a man stalking another man. Joe Rose played by Daniel Craig is seen at the beginning of the film enjoying a picnic in the Oxfordshire countryside with girlfriend Claire (Clarissa from the book). The peaceful and quiet afternoon is brought down to earth by a freak balloon accident. Men are seen running from all directions (we assume they all had reason to be there) towards the balloon in hope of stopping it so that the young boy inside is safe. However the combined body weight of the men does not manage to keep the balloon grounded and the men are lifted into the air, one by one they begin to drop off until one man is left hanging on. The camera shows this one man left, Dr Logan, clinging onto one of the ropes before letting go and focuses on him plummeting towards the Earth. Enduring love has two story lines that run through it. The minor one is the death of the doctor, and the guilt surrounding all those involved of 'who let go first', which also entangles Joe in a battle to prove to the doctor's wife that Dr Logan was there on the day by chance, not because he was having an illicit affair which is what she believes. The major story line running through the film, which helps to give the film its thriller genre is the erratic Jed Parry played by Rhys Ifans. Ifans is a loner living off an inheritance whose only main passion in life is God, until he meets Joe. Throughout the film, Jed is seen stalking Joe until it reaches a breaking point for Joe. Jed fails to see that Joe is not a homosexual and does not want to return his love or have anything to do with Parry, however he persists until he feels that the only result is for both of them to die. The ending reaches a dramatic climax as Jed Parry stabs Claire in hope for Joe to love him back, however his paranoid state of mind leads to him getting himself stabbed. The film is slightly confusing and abstract in the sense that it is not generic and unlike other films around today. However, the director 'Roger Michell' uses several techniques to build up suspense and sense of dilemma throughout Enduring Love. The balloon at the beginning of the film was red, and throughout the film the use of this colour is used whenever Joe is present. This reflects his traumatised state of mind but also relates to the constant presence of his stalker Jed Parry. Throughout the film, the camera tends to pan round between Jed and Joe to achieve both of their contrasting emotions in one place, with Jed feeling full of love and desire, and Joe full of dread, disgust and fear. Michell uses a lot of hard light during the course of this film as it is a generally depressing and negative film and the lighting reflects this well.

Taken

This film starring Liam Neeson is about a father's struggle to overcome the news that his daughter is in severe danger somewhere in Europe. The film begins showing a little about his history, that he is a semi-retired body guard, doing minor work from time to time. He allows his daughter to travel to Paris with her friend as he is under the impression it is an educational trip, rather than a fun filled trip around Europe following rock band U2. Once this secret is revealed to him over the phone by his daughter when she is already in Paris, she and her friend come under attack by suspicious men in the apartment they stay in. Whilst on the phone to her experienced father, he explains to his daughter that she is to be taken by these men but he promises to her that he will come to Paris and find her. The course of the film shows Neeson's struggle to identify and trace his daughters captors. The film has a high level of violence and disturbing images as his daughter is revealed to have been sold in a drug and sex trafficking system. The film ends with Neeson finding his daughter and then ends on a positive ending. The director Pierre Morel uses diverse shots and lighting to create the suspense and action in this film. One particular scene where Neeson discovers an almost brothel type establishment on a building site, the camera moves with him, giving a realistic effect of his panic and rushed state as he walks through, the camera pans round at a high speed into each separate booth, giving a quick glimpse as to what is inside. Lighting is also used well in this film and Morel often uses downwards lighting like a spotlight on many of the characters. This is used before the character under the spotlight is to become under immense pressure or pain. eg. the man being tortured by Neeson for information with the electrical wires.