Alfie- Scene analysis

Alfie is a 1966 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert starring Michael Caine. The narrative focuses on working class and young people along with Alfie, the main protagonist. The film was released by Paramount pictures. 'Alfie' is a typical film of this genre since the narrative takes place in London. This reinforces the idea of the capital being the cultural centre of the 'swinging sixties'. However instead of focusing on the swinging sixties, the movie focues more on the harsh reality in the 60's.

The first scene is a scene of dogs, as well as Alfie and another woman having sex in the car which shows Alfie doesn't even care if the woman is married. We can instantly assume that Alfie doesn't treat girls very well, because of the way he is talking to her. Michael Caine plays a very self centered character, he treats women with disrespect and refers to them as 'it', using them for sex and domestic purposes. The setting is very dark since its night time, and the act is carried out in a car. It's private which means that no one can catch them,and that is what Alfie wants. He's a very sly character who would find their way out of everything. If for example he gets a woman pregnant, he persuades her to have an abortion which shows that he just doesn't care. Abortion would be something frowned upon in the 60's,and it was a great hassle if anyone went to get an abortion. Alfie however see's abortion as the onl way out,so he persuades any woman he impregnates to have an abortion. He definitely enjoys the favour of women, but is avoiding any commitment. This would mean that Alfie is definitely in conflict with the traditional family values, and sex before marriage. We could also say that he is a risk to families and their traditional values.

Even though most of the women in the film are portrayed as promiscous, 'Alfie' shows us a bit of women independance. Ruby, who was one of Alfie's lovers rejected him after a while,since she wanted someone younger. We start to realise that Ruby was more dominant and in power in that moment.

The dogs, especially one particular dog is the representation of Alfie, basically always doing what he wants. Its a very clever visual metaphor.The first scene also begins with slow jazz music. It is non diegetic and it and it represents the character of Alfie and the time period. Since its slow paced, we can link it to Alfie's casual and relaxed attitude to life.

Alfies posture and the way he talks can also hint to us that Alfie doesn't really care about anything, unless its himself. He is very laid back and reckless, in the terms of the amount of women he sleeps with. He carries on the tradition of antihero's. The way he treats women is a representation of the limited gender roles. (We see this through Gilda, Lily and Annie).

How fast was I going officer? - DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1943)

The 'How fast was I going officer' is a significant scene in the movie because it tells us a lot about the two main protagonists. Phyllis and Walter are in the same room,Phyllis talks very calmly yet there is a hint of slight seduction in her voice. We can see from her movement and the way she looks at Walter that she wants to impress him,however she tries to keep it down since she is a married woman. Phyllis walks over to the chair and sits down slowly.

When we look at Phyllis, she is sat in a quite laid back position. Her legs are crossed however they are on show which suggests that she is trying to attract Walter. She looks like a very confident woman and  The lighting is low key and is mainly focused on her which indicates that the whole scene is about her and what she does. She is wearing white/pale colours and also has blonde hair which makes her look very innocent. We can see from this screenshot that she is looking at Walter with a small grin on her face. This is a medium shot and it shows us some detail of the scene. If we look at this screenshot without watching the movie we can instantly tell that the woman is somehow trying to get the attention of the man and possibly trying to flirt in one way or another. When she is sat down Walter says to her "What's engraved on your anklet" as if he was trying to purposely point it out to her. The anklet represents a false and tacky woman along with her hair and make up. Back in the 1940's women who wore anklets were portrayed as not very nice women. They would be the type of women that sleep around or are prostitutes,so Phyllis represents the type of women from American society .Like I mentioned before,Phyllis looks like a very innocent woman however no matter how hard she tries it is obvious that she is the complete opposite.

Walter as we can see and hear is clearly interested in Phyllis,since the things he say are quite flirty. It is obvious that Phyllis has already managed to grab Walters attention.
Phyllis tells him that there is a speed limit of 40 km/h,referring to him trying to flirt and her being married,and afterwards Walter says "How fast was I going officer?" and she replies with an answer that tells him to basically stop. However the fact that she replies with "90 km/h" and doesn't bluntly end the conversation may show that she is interested,

Orange Is the new black

Season 1,2&3

Orange is the new black is a dark comedy.The story of Piper Chapman,a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to fifteen months in prison after being convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting money to her drug dealing girlfriend. Chapman (wearing orange in picture below) comes from a rich happy family,and is about to get married to her fiance named Larry.

However none of them knew that Piper was in a lesbian relationship before she met Larry. The name of her now ex girlfriend,is Alex Vause. Piper was conviced that she is over Alex,what she didn't know is that Alex has also been caught,and sent to the same prison as her. After the shocking surprise,Vause and Chapman sort out a few aguments after which they realise that they still want eachother. The two girls spend more and more time together,and eventually Piper ends up cheating on her fiance,Larry. Throughout the series we see the difficulties Piper has to face,and how hard it was for her to fit in for the first few weeks. We get to see the life of others who are stuck in the same prison as Piper. What I like about this show is the fact that every character has a different story,and that brings the attention of the audience. The director of this TV series really did put a lot of effort ino this production.

As we progress further into the series,more things get complicated. Larry and Piper completely break apart,Piper engages in multiple sexual relationships. Orange is the new black is definitely not a series for the whole family to watch. The audience develop connections with some of the characters,as the whole show involves everyone. We get to see the life of each character before and after they have been sent to jail.

Se7en

Narrative theory of Se7en (1995)

The killer in the movie (Kevin Spacey) gives himself
away to the detectives and the police in a hotel. 

The film seven is a thriller directed by david fincher,starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. Brad Pitt and Freeman play the two main characters as detectives who investigate the death of a fat man they find face-down in a dish of pasta. Every now and then they discover another corpse,and in the end there is 7 of them. Each death has something to do with a sin. After two of the killings,the detectives realise they are dealing with a serial killer who intends every murder to punish one of the Seven deadly sins.

I personally found the film very interesting,seeing as it wasn't the first time I was watching it. Se7en is definitely one of my top 10 favourite movies to watch. The structure of the film is quite interesting,since everything fits in well together and the events in the film flow nicely. The plot has surprised me a lot in a positive way,since using the seven deadly sins was a clever idea. The audience may look at the film and realise that maybe,if we look at the point of view of the killer he was right. All the characters were made out to be very interesting,as well as the choice of actors. This one of Freeman's best movies in my opinion. The film is not about detection. Suprisingly enough,the killer gives himself away to the police. There is a screen shot shown of this above. We can see that his white shirt is covered in blood which suggests danger and makes us wonder what has happened. His finertips are covered in plasters. This is because the killer would cut off the tip of his finers with a razor blade,which would result in him having no finger prints. This way he couldn't be found. The focus is shallow,and the killer is in the middle of this shot so he is in the centre of attention.

I liked the movie because of the clever plot,but also a lot of the camera angles came across as interesting and grabbed my attention. Since I have studied media in secondary school,I am unable to watch a movie without looking at details in every scene.

This is a screenshot of the killer who has already been captured.He took the two detectives to a place where they would be able to find out what the last killing was,and what it was to do with.To their surprise,they ended up in empty space,a practically abandoned and desolated place.A man with a parcel drives over and hands one of the detectives a parcel. This is near the ending of the film,and the shot is very clever. This is due to the fact that the offender is dressed in orange,a colour that stands out from the rest of the place that they are in. This shows the audience that even though in the movie plot the killer should be worthless and ignored,to us he is everything. A lot of the things he says give us an explenation of his murders and why he decided to kill seven people. In this shot he is on his knees,however the camera angles are really specifically used to create the effect of dominance. This is because a low camera angle is used,which shows that he is powerful and has high status,even though he should not. The sun is behind him,in other words he is blocking the sun which puts a shadow on everything in front of him. This has a really strong and metaphorical meaning,since shadows are dark-therefore implying something bad is about to happen.

I was disappointed with the ending the first time I watched this movie. This is because the killing of the detectives wife was nothing shocking. Some audiences found it terribly disturbing and horrible,however my reaction was pretty normal. I think that if the director had waited a bit,the ending could have been much better.

Actress- Jessica Lange

   Jessica Lange is an American actress who has worked in film,theater and television, The recipient of several awards including two Oscars awards,three Emmys,five Golden Globes, one SAG award and three Dorian awards. Jessica lange is considered to be one of the greatest actors of her generation. She was born on 20-04-1949 (66 years old),in USA.

Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode in American
horror story season 3-Coven.

Lange is one of my favourite actresses,due to her ability to adapt to any role she has been given. She is a beautiful,talented and succesfull woman who has been making progress throughout her life. Jessica plays one of the main characters in many of the seasons of a tv series called 'American Horror Story'. She has been able to participate in 4/5 AHS seasons,playing the roles of; a mother,a nun,a witch and the leader of a freak show. Lange manages to fit in everywhere,no matter what character she has to play. In my opinion,Jessica plays the role of a witch in season 3 best. She always manages to keep a strraight face,and comes across as a stong,powerful,confident and independant witch. Nothing can get in her way, and she manages to pull off anything,even death.

   Jessica lange is also known for 'Cape fear','The vow' and 'Big fish'. These films were produced before American horror story,and I think it is safe to say that she has gained more popularity thanks to that show. Overall I am looking forward to seeing Jessica Lange in more movies in the future,whether they are modern style or not,since I think that Lange can be anything/anyone in the film industry.

Orphan (2009)

    The movie Orphan is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra,it has moments of dark humor and the movie fits perfectly under the genre of thriller and the movie is 2h 3minutes long. The story of Orphan is about a married couple (Kate and John),with two children, Unfortunately,Kate's third pregnancy ends with a misscarriage, which leaves permanent marks on her already weak psyche. Kate faced problems with alcohol in the past,to the point where she had to go to therapy which continues throughout the film. The parents decide to adopt a third child from an orphanage. The child they adopted is named Esther,who is supposedly a 9 year old girl. However,as they take Esther into their home things start getting out of hand, and Esther is always near trouble,

Esther reveals herself (Orphan)

    After a tidal wave of unpleasant and strange events,Kate ends up in hospital along with her younger son,and John is home alone with Esther. He drinks a few beers to de-stress and in that moment Esther then decides to take her chance,to seduce her foster father.To her surprise she gets rejected,and she throws a massive tantrum. This is the part of the film where we find out Esther's main secret. We get a lot of close up shots of Esthers face,which enables us to see her emotions. There is mainly key lighting on Esther.Tears are streaming down her face and her eye make up is smudged. The use of black on her eyes makes her look mysterious and we see the anger in her face,which implies that something bad is about to happen. Seeing as Esther is a little girl,the audience have no clue what happens next. In the picture below,her face has a yellow and pale glow,which could represent sickness. The camera movement in this shot is static since the director wants us to understand her emotions,however with every moment Esther's face starts ageing. The focus is shallow,everything behind Esther is blurred out.