Tommy’s Film Blog

 The opening scene of City of God immediately establishes the fast pace and chaotic tone of the film in general through rapid-fire editing. The first thing we see in the film is the screen cutting from black to a close-up shot of a knife being sharpened, which immediately tells the audience that this film will be violent. The film does this repeatedly as fast paced samba music fades in, increasing the pace of which the film cuts from the black screen to the knife, immediately increasing the adrenaline of the audience and preparing them for the film. Even the title screen, which remains on screen for only 3 seconds, is not still, as it includes both a fast zoom out, as well as shaky cam. The music finally fades all the way in, just as it is established as non-diegetic, as we see it being performed by villagers, with others dancing. The film swiftly cuts between this and other people cooking, as well as defeathering a chicken that had previously been killed. Not only does this contin...

In the second to last scene from Trainspotting; Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie are in a bar; celebrating their successful drug deal and the money they acquired from it. Due to his anger issues that are consistently shown throughout the film, after bumping into a man and spilling some beer,  Begbie begins to argue with, and eventually starts to attack him, bloodying him and severely injuring him in the process. During this, Sick Boy and Spud try to intervene, but he continues to act the same way towards them, questioning their friendship, as up to this point, we have only seen Begbie use intimidation to get what he wants from them. Throughout this, we get intimate close-ups of Renton looking at the bag, with the other three being nothing but silhouettes in the background, and their arguments sound like they are much further in the distance than they are. This suggests not only that Renton has an opportunity and take the money for himself, but also his emotional distance from the ...

 In the opening scene of Shaun of the Dead, it is revealed that Liz has not met Shaun's mother, to the shock of David. Dianne asks Shaun if he doesn't get along with his mother, to which Shaun avoids her question. This leads the audience to speculate that Shaun does have a poor relationshíp with his mum, which is furthered by the scene in which he is approached by his stepfather, Philip, while he is at work, who reminds Shaun that he forgot to buy he flowers on mother's day. However, after we meet Barbara (Shaun's mum), it is made apparent that she and Shaun has a strong relationship with Barbara, but not with Philip, and their disagreements about Philip sometimes get in the way of their relationship. For example, Shaun refuses to refer to Philip as his Dad, despite him playing a paternal role in his life since he was 12. When Shaun and Ed worry about Barbara being bitten, it comes as a relief to both of them that it is only Philip, seeming completely unsympathetic towa...

 In the opening shot of Shaun of the Dead, Shaun stares blankly at the camera, deep in thought. We are not told or shown what he is thinking about, however, it is assumable that he is thinking about his relationships, mainly with Liz and Ed, and whether or not he wants these to change. The way in which he stares at the camera resembles the famous "Kubrick stare", which is used in Kubrick's films to show derangement; in this case, as it is a satirical comedy, the meaning behind this stare is less severe, and hints more towards Shaun being tired, overwhelmed and fed up. The fact that he is simultaneously reinforces this. When he is called by Liz, he has to look in a different direction, reinforcing the fact that he was not paying attention to her, despite the fact they are having an important discussion which could determine the future of their relationship. Liz believes that Ed, Shaun's best friend that he lives with, is getting in the way of Shaun and Liz's relati...

In the ending scenes of Trainspotting, especially in the narrative resolutions of the characters of Renton and Tommy, is where the film goes the furthest in depth about it's ideological themes, and gives an answer to some of the questions that it asks, while still being vague so the audience can still apply their own meaning. For example, the film does not give a straight answer as to whether or not Renton is morally correct in taking the money, but regardless of the viewer's opinion, we can clearly see Renton's reasoning and justification for doing this. One way in which the film achieves this is by showing a clear opportunity for Renton to escape in the pub scene earlier in the film, while Begbie and the others are distracted by the fight that Begbie gets into with a complete stranger. There are uncomfortable close-ups on both Renton's face, with it being clear that the fight is escalating in the background, heightening the tension as we know how Begbie will react if ...

 In the opening scene of Trainspotting, there is around one second of quiet, before Renton and Spud run into frame. The camera is on the floor in this shot, showing nothing but their legs, showing as much movement as possible, bringing an abrupt end to this second of peace. As soon as Renton and Spud enter the frame, Lust for Life by Iggy Pop begins to play, with the boisterous opening drums intensifying the abrupt end to the peace. Renton starts his monologue, stating "Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a family. etc." This implies that Renton is mocking the capitalist idea that they can achieve anything, as this film is set in Thatcher's Britain, which was responsible for one of the largest class divides in British history, especially in Glasgow; leading to many of the crises in the film.   As this monologue begins, the camera pans up to reveal that Renton and Spud are running from security guards, further revealing the anarchic spirit of both the characters of Renton an...

 Just before the scene in which Renton overdoses on heroin, we see him walk out of the fire exit of the bingo hall he was in with his family in the previous scene. The way in which he sneaks away from his family is symbolic of the fact that he is leaving them behind for heroin. He continues to complain via voiceover about the methadone he is being prescribed by doctors as a substitute to heroin, and about how it is not enough to satisfy him. He climbs along the wall, and jumps off of it; signalling to the audience his desperateness for heroin, and how severe his addiction really is. After he jumps, the film cuts straight to him landing in the heroin dealer, Mikey Forrester flat. Renton and Forrester speak to each other as if they are in a fancy restaurant, which is the film once again poking fun at and acknowledging the class differences in the UK in this time period. Renton asks for the heroin to be "put on his tab", to which the Forrester responds with the fact that he stil...