Reviews

Short film: Driven (2013/14)
Produced by signal films for the BFI course last year, driven follows the story of a lost man who's sat nav appears to be running him in circles. At first, the viewer may be expected to find this situation almost comedic. However, as the film progresses and the sun goes down, its revealed that there is a far darker reason behind the mans unfortunate situation. Plot wise I feel like the film achieved the twist it was looking to achieve. The point at which the twist is revealed and the tone changes is so fast that it hits hard. the cinematography is also very well done. the use of over the shoulder shots to shoot the interior of the car whilst driving and stationary was well executed and the wider shots established both the feeling of isolation and being lost that the main character was feeling.

Foreign film: He loves me, He loves me not (2002 "À la folie... pas du tout" (original title))
This is a film of French origin, which focused on telling the same story from multiple perspectives. each time revealing that told us more about motives and plot, while at the same time changing the tone of the film dramatically. Colour is used a great deal in the film. There are moments when the film is very vibrant and other scenes where there is little colour. This follows the shift in mood throughout. the sound and music in the film play another key factor as the same song is repeated, again like the colour, played differently to mimic the tone. The plot is clever, at first making the viewer believe they are watching a romantic film and then slowly dismantling that façade to reveal a darker story, almost turning the film into a thriller, focused on a girl with a severe mental illness.

British film: 24 hour party people (2002)
Directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, 24 hour party people is a biographical comedy set in the 1970's, and follows the establishment of Factory records by Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan) The style of the writing seems very fast. The film seems to skim through numerous real life events. However, the viewer is never really lost and wondering what is happening as the main character is constantly breaking the forth wall and telling you exactly who people are and what's happening. At the very start of the film we are even told how the plot of the film with go, telling us it parallels the story of Icarus. The cinematography is also very interesting. the film is filter to look as if the entire thing was filmed in the 1970's and there are parts where the film is spliced together with real life footage of the bands that are supposed to be playing. I feel this sets the tone of the film well and helps us understand who the main character is talking about or interacting with.