Essex Boys was directed by Terry Winsor and was released on the 14th July in 2000 and is an English film, filmed in the UK. The plot is based around drug dealing and gangster life in Essex. The cast vary from Sean Bean, Larry Lamb, Charlie Creed-Miles, Alex Kingston and more.
Locations
One location that is used in the film is the underground tunnel. The vanishing point of the tunnel represents an entrance into danger and the claustrophobic space shows that there is no way out of it. The 'stay clear' sign on the road acts (not shown in the screenshot but it shown soon after) as a warning to Billy to not go any further and get involved. Glistening of the roads also relates to a scene in the film 'Once Upon a Time in America' where the roads glisten from the rain with three dead bodies laying across the ground (image on the left). The glistening road in the tunnel could signify the death or danger. The tunnel could also metaphorically represent the barrel of a gun which fore-shadows future events.
Lighting
Noir lighting in the beginning shot sets the mood and makes the mise en-scene become tense and mysterious straight away. The ambient, slight lighting of the lamp is a sharp blue colour which gives off an eerie and cold colour that reflects on the damp ground like the moon. The slight light also shines into the garage and identifies the claustrophobic spacing and the idea that there is no way out.
Sound
The soundtrack to Essex Boys is "Butterfly" performed by Sylvia Powell. This is ironic as butterflies are deemed as sweet and pretty. However, the 'Essex boys' are very dangerous and sinister.
Characters
The characters throughout this film show today's modern gangsters. The main character 'Jason' played by Sean Bean wears a very bright, yellow, patterned shirt that break from the tradition of being 'bright' and 'happy'. Winsor may try to portay a different personality to what may be confound in the expectations of wearing bright, patterned clothing. The way Jason is positioned like this in the back of the car shows how relaxed and laid back he is, considering that he just came out of prison.
Camera shots/angles
As the two drive through the underground tunnel, the reflection of the lights on the window which are reflected onto the car could represent bars from a prison, which creates tan enigma. And the fact that Jason has just come out of prison, the reflection shows that he may be driving his way into prison again.
The dirt on the window in front of Jason represents that he is shifty and deceitful person. This mise en-scene is the way that Sean Bean is introduced as Jason Locke Jason into the film. Straight away from this scene we can see what sort of person he is. The lamp above his head could also symbolize a spotlight on to Jason as he's the main character ans there is a lot about this specific character and his importance in the film.
Some competent analysis of aspects of mise-en-scene. In future posts I suggest you specifically explain how aspects of mise-en-scene reflect how the director has used, developed or challenged GENERIC conventions. In your post on Essex Boys you needed to identify GENERIC aspects of mise-en-scene. For example in the clip you are referencing: claustrophobic spaces, noir lighting, specific generic character types and so on.
ReplyDeleteLighting: Be very careful when discussing lighting, you say that the lighting in the garage is ambient! This lighting is non ambient with the director designing a chiaroscuro effect which if generic. This kind of lighting needs to be set up. The lighting of interior shots/footage in thrillers is generally non ambient. Do be careful about this!
If you wanted to produce the same effect in your production you would need lamps and blackouts to achieve a noir/chiaroscuro style.
Costume/character types:
Your sentence structure is a little confusing here. You say....
...to what may be confound in the expectations of wearing bright, patterned clothing...
Do you mean contradict or challenge rather than "confound"?
You are on the right track Anna so keep up with submitting your case studies.
Jason's loud costume indicates his vanity, brashness and social class. His body language suggests over confidence/conceit and a big ego. Ye looks like a 30+ year old yob!