Never
Forget
At the beginning of the extract the viewers are presented
with a close up of a
suit carrier being unzipped as the carrier is being unzipped an image of a
wedding tux attached to the carrier comes into focus. Informing the audience
that it contains wedding attire stereotypically worn by a groom. Whilst this
action is taking place, off
screen diegetic classical music is playing in the background, which is
fitting in terms of being associated with a wedding.
This then cuts
to a medium close up
positioned towards the brick pavement, however when a female character walks
past; the camera slightly pans
and then tilts up into
a fixed shot of the female protagonist whose back is facing the camera keeping her
face hidden. The sound of the female’s heels whilst she is walking may be
emphasised through the use of a foley sound effect. As the sound of her footsteps is quite
dominant amongst the ambient
background noise of the location
she is in. Her surroundings
appear to resemble the city as a shallow depth of field capture of the background around her give
the impression of various buildings with bright lights amongst her. The fact
that the extract is set at night
and the female character is wearing heels suggests that she is planning on going somewhere elegant and
wants to look feminine.
Throughout this extract the use of parallel cutting is used between the two
main characters this instigates that the storyline is focused around these two
central characters. For example, after the shot outside, the extract cuts to a close up of the male
characters wrists as he is adjusting his cufflink’s; suggesting that he is also
getting ready to go somewhere rather elegant and wants to make a good
impression in terms of his dress
code. This shot focuses on the male’s chest area so as the viewer you do
not get to see his face; similar to the previous shot of the female. The fact
that the audience haven’t been allowed to see either of the characters faces
yet suggests that at this point in the plot both the characters are equal and
therefore the audience have not been positioned to criticise as of yet.
The next shot contains a shallow depth of field close up of the women looking at her makeup in
a hand mirror. However, the essential significance of this shot is that she is
wearing an engagement ring,
this prop is
highlighted through the fact that her hand is the area which remains in focus
during this shot. The significance of the female character looking in the
mirror shows that she cares about her appearance and wants to make herself
presentable.
The next shot is a point of view close up of a man looking at his phone, the image on the lock screen of
his phone is of him and the women looking loved up and happy. This implies that
he is the person she is engaged to. As the sequence continues, spectators are
presented with a long shot
of the female protagonist walking towards the camera. During this shot the on screen diegetic sound
of her phone starts ringing, as she answers her phone the women says in a
slightly impatient tone; “I’m literally one minute away”. This then alters to a
medium shot of the male
character who vaguely looks over the balcony he is standing on as he says “No
rush, happy Valentine’s Day” in a bitter sweet tone of voice.
Throughout this sequence no close ups of the female characters face are used
until the moment when her fiancé asks how her night out was the night before.
As soon as he asks “Good night last night?” the camera jump cuts to a close up of the females face, this use of
camera framing, positions the audience to read her face and focus on her facial expression as she
looks slightly apprehensive to answer; suggesting there may be something she is
keeping a secret. However, when answering this question the camera cuts to a flashback of
her and another women drinking at a bar; presented through a medium two shot. As the
flashback is playing out the female protagonist starts speaking through a voice over which reveals
that she is lying about what she did that night. For instance, the female
character says to her fiancé “Chinese takeaway, bottle of wine, nothing special”,
as she is saying this it is made clear through her tone of voice and facial expression that she is
trying to come across in a nonchalant type of way.
As the two characters are discussing what happened the night
before the camera transitions
between the characters talking in the present time and the action taking place
in the flashbacks. At one point the camera returns to a medium shot of the male character who asks in a
rather blunt manner; “So you stayed in?” to which the female character replies
through the phone with an off-screen
unconvincing “Yeah”. At this point in the sequence it is has been made clear to
the audience through the use of a montage of flashbacks that the female character is lying about
what she did the night before. Furthermore, we would assume that the fiancé is
none the wiser as he is asking her questions, so traditionally this would be a
good example of a situation where dramatic irony is used. However, when
observing the fiancés passive facial
expression and unenthusiastic tone of voice it may be clear to the
audience that he is aware of what went on the night before.
As the sequence continues to play out through their
discussion on the phone, a change in the camera position is created through
presenting the audience with an extreme long shot of the women continuing to walk. During this
shot it is made clear that her location
appears to be isolated as she walks along the harbour alone. Buildings appear
to glimpse in the near distance suggesting that blocks of flats surround the
harbour. Whilst the female asks how her fiancés night was the montage of flashbacks
continue to unfold on the screen; this including a four shot of the female character making out
with another man alongside another couple. * This is followed by an out of focus close up of the women
removing her engagement ring from her hand.* As this is happening the male
character says through a voiceover
“I’ve had better” supporting the possibility that he may already know what took
place last night.
This shot then cuts to a medium
shot capturing the female character and the mystery man getting up and
walking out of the club, as they walk across the room the camera pans following the direction
they’re going, whilst using shallow
depth of field. After they have walked past the camera the frame stays
in place; positioned at the bar, to which the surrounding background comes into
focus and it is clear that her fiancé is standing at the bar. It is clear by
his facial expression
that he is shocked and disgusted by what he has just witnessed. Whilst this has been revealed in a flashback
a voiceover of the
male on the phone saying “Just felt a little sick that’s all” is playing over
the top.
The flashback is then interrupted by the female character
appearing in a long shot
whilst saying “Aw, you should have called me”; the sympathising use of her
words suggests that despite her actions she does care about the male character.
Additionally, the setting
in this shot also clarifies that she is now outside a block of flats where she
is planning on meeting her fiancé. This is supported by the next shot where her
fiancé looks over the balcony; suggesting that he can see her from where he is.
The sequence continues using parallel cutting between the two characters; the
male protagonist whilst still on the phone says “You know I love you more than
I’ve ever loved anyone” in a shallow
depth of field close up.
As he says this the females walking becomes gradually slower as she says “I
love you too” in a convincing and possibly truthful response. This is followed
by an extreme close up
of the males face as he says “I was content I didn’t need you in my life, never
forget that”. The closeness of the shot symbolises the feelings and importance
he feels from the words he is saying. Followed by this the women replies “Ok,
why?” in a confused and almost humorous manner. To which he responds through
gritting teeth that he wants her to know that “this is all your fault”. The
shot cuts to an extreme close up where just
his mouth is visible; emphasising the meaning and motivation behind his words.
Whilst the camera remains in the same position the man pulls
the phone away from his ear and turns facing towards the direction of the
balcony. Finally followed by the last shot which contains the woman looking
confused and frightened. While still holding her phone a diegetic on screen
beeping can be heard from it indicating that the man has hung up on her.
Lastly, the scene is ended after synchronously seeing and hearing his body fall
to the ground on screen;
to which the women screams out in terror and steps back cautiously along with
the camera shakily motioning her body language, most likely used with a tripod to help highlight the
shock she is feeling at this moment in time.
In conclusion I feel that as a viewer myself the portrayal of
the sequence is positioning viewers to feel empathy for the male character and
in contrast dislike or disagree with the actions of the female character. The
fact that throughout watching the sequence the use of parallel cutting is used
to represent the actions of both the characters at the same point in time
suggests that the filmmakers were not trying to come across as biased. This is
due to the fact that because we are shown both perspectives of the situation in
the story that we as viewers are therefore left to make a decision about the
characters on our own.
Furthermore, through this use of construction of the
storyline I think that the representation of gender is explored and exchanged
between both characters. For example, the male character is positioned as the
victim in this scenario as well as expressing an emotional state of despair and
sorrow. Showing this side of a man’s personality isn’t very common in a lot of
films as it’s not the norm for a man to play the sensitive victim. Whereas in
comparison even though the female character is stereotypically feminine in
terms of her dress code and appearance, she also comes across as a careless
love rat. These elements which are used in this extract therefore challenge the
stereotypical gender norms that a lot of mainstream films have about
relationships in this type of situation.
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