Drama movie analysis-I AM SAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWA4bwsfP3U 0.10-1.20

I AM SAM revolves around the story of a mentally handicapped man as he fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold hearted lawyer the value of love and family”.

Usually at the start of a scene there is an establishing shot to associate the character(s) with the location and set the scene. However at the beginning of this scene we get barley any indication of where this scene is set or any establishment. Instead we have a point of view shot (which we may not discover so early on) from the female in the scene looking through a hole in the wall at Sam. This could also be interpreted as a close up as Sam's face is tightly framed in the hole. 

The directors may not have chosen to use an establishing shot because this shot in contrast shows how Sam feels separate to the society and world he lives in. This directly links to how disability is portrayed in the film because it triggers pity from the audience. The hole itself almost represents Sam- firstly because it is missing a piece-just like the fragile Sam can break easily and his disability leads him to be missing pieces (or qualities) that ‘normal’ people have. It is also a very limited view of Sam through the hole- showing the very limited, stereotyped view people would have of people like we Sam.

In this part of the scene, as Sam begins to talk about how he feels and his disability affects him he faces away from the camera- this shows his body language expressing his feelings however it is still a fairly close up shot and when he turns back round the camera zooms in more so the close up shot expresses his expressions and feelings more. Included in the close up are just his hands and face-however Lucy's (his daughter) name remains in the background so this may connote that she is always involved in the story line and his life. The camera is not held very still in

this scene which may relate to his nervous feelings and replicate the quivering, stress and sadness he is going through. It also makes the movie look less staged and false and is original from many other movies, as well as this it reinforces the reality and truth behind ideas of disability and how people just like Sam think and feel.

This lighting shines on Sam almost highlighting him as the prominent character in this scene. The natural lighting also shows realness and reality (not just light from a bulb) and we connote sunlight with happiness and brightness. Although Sam's presence juxtaposes this idea of happiness as he is crying in the scene, we see Sam as a bright, intelligent human who is fighting for his daughter and what is right. The usage of no backing music or sound also takes away any distraction from the importance of what Sam is saying.

In this conversational scene, an over the shoulder shot has been used which is very common when two people are talking and it almost gets the audience involved in the conservation. This scene has a huge prominence in the film because it starts to reflect on the flaws of a normal, regular person that the audience can associate to and flaunts the flaws that she has which in many cases outweigh Sam's. Sam's lawyer talks of her struggles and we see her break down with close up shots framing her face that reinforce that even if you have everything- you can never be perfect- everyone's lives and personas will have flaws. We see Sam try to console his lawyer, as any normal person would do and we begin to dislodge the pity we feel for Sam and think of him just like we would think of anyone else. This subverts to the usual representation of disabled people as Sam is proved to have abilities and achieve great things, he is also directly associated and compared to a normal person who has great inabilities and problems also.

The very direct and emotionally grueling usage of language allows the dialogue in the scene to reinforce the sadness and moral point the scene is trying to get across- that everyone is the same. The only action in the scene is the crying of both characters- however this is enough to reinforce the sadness of the situation and create an effective piece of film.

To conclude:

In this clip of ‘I am Sam’, there is both a positive and negative portrayal. It is firstly negative as Sam feels distraught that he was ‘born like that’, with a disability, and feels like he is different to everyone else. This conforms to the typical representation of disabled people because in many television programmes and dramas, disabled people are portrayed as different and act as a contrast for the ‘normal’ characters.

however, the portrayal of Sam contrasts with society ideas and subverts to this usual representation because the issues he talks about are over-powered by the issues of somebody we would consider ‘normal’. Although we see Sam as fragile and weak in this clip, he is also seen to be strong, supportive and similar. All characteristics of a typical, ‘normal’ person.

Analysis of my favorite film-shutter island (action/thriller)

 "which would be worse – to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?" Teddy Daniels-shutter island

Shutter Island doesn't simply win my vote as my favorite film for the main role played by the strikingly gorgeous Leonardo DiCaprio but but also because the plot devised by best selling novelist Dennis Lehane adapted by screenwriter  Martin scorese is quite frankly ingenuous. DiCaprio himself even  described  the filming as 'emotionally grueling' and whilst he spent endless hours in front of the cameras acting in his 'most challenging film to date' we are presented with a two hour clean cut of of superb indulgence in a superb motion picture. The 'blogsphere' has been awash with debate about what truly happens in the final scene of the movie and in awe of the clever twist-however i don't dare to dig into and reveal as much information as that to any virgins of watching shutter island.           

          Now, shutter island is not some mundane clone of a out-dated book....its more of a teasing enigma encased within a splendid plot inevitable to have huge twists and revelations. Categorized as a thriller; the movie really does inherit themes involving crime(beyond belief) an exciting story and the typical espionage(on a rather small scale although). 

          The film revolves around The book's protagonist and the films leading character, Teddy Daniels, who's 'apparently' (you'll understand everything when you watch the film-promise) a US marshal, who turns out to be a deranged killer named Andrew Laeddis. (SPOILER ALERT-sorry) during the film we learn that Laeddis is  a patient in a mental hospital who's been encouraged by his psychiatrist to: 'act out his delusion in the hope that this will dispel it'. This role play fails. Terribly. After experiencing a brief recovery, Andrew relapses into insanity..leading to many subsequent events.          

            The film acquires its title from the island on which the asylum Laeddis is referred to is on. The island is fairly small, meaning all happenings are intensified and portrayed in a condensed stimulating way. The word 'shutter' connotes ideas of disassociation and closure, this is very relevant for the asylum which closes out the exterior world around it. The word island directly juxtaposes with 'shutter' because when we think of an island most people tend to picture beaches, haven and neutrality however the location of the film completely contrasts with this. It is dingy (exaggerated with the low, ambient lighting used), intimidating and unknown. If I'm honest, i cant say that any part of this film is remotely 'jolly'...the pathetic fallacy technique Scorsese uses makes the lighting and weather of the film seem to constantly reflect the low, confused, sad morale of main character Teddy meaning the entirety of the film manages to keep its audience in the darkness...the shadows...the suspense. Only when Teddy has flashbacks to his past does the mood and pathetic fallacy technique vary- as the mise-en-scene completely changes and Teddy is wearing bright clothes, with a gorgeous brightly clothed wife, in a colored brightly lit house with smiles and kisses and dialogue revolved around love. 

             When we think of an island, depending on perspective, people can also think of abandonment and loneliness or even being lost, however the people on this island are only lost within themselves...lost in their thoughts...abandoning their moral sanity and mental stability with the only thing left to abandon being hope. For Teddy, the amount of psychiatrists and doctors putting hope into his recovery is short lived when he relapses..showing a huge defeat of the ideology of hope.        

             With that explanation alone, i find it difficult to justify why i wouldn't consider 'Shutter Island' to be one of my favorite films. I also simply love the genre of the film (thriller). My enjoyment of the film was not only maximized by the award winning actors and admired genre, but also because of the amount of happenings and scenes in the play that completely foreshadow the ending-without you even knowing it! The foreshadowing technique Scorsese uses is so subtle so that the outcome is explicitly revealed in such a clever manner and every piece of the puzzle fits together. But not only is the plot a puzzle for the audience the whole entirety of the film- DiCaprio plays such a puzzled character (Teddy) the whole way through so the actual structure of the film itself is based around the main character, this means the confusion that main character Teddy feels is almost replicated by the audience! This is very effective as it allows an even stronger audience connection and association with the film. In addition, the frequent uses of flash backs and past events makes the film more dramatic, with more background, context and meaning...and eventually these flashbacks are the necessity that piece every last bit of the puzzle together.

my own personal filming experience

This was part of a filming project that i participated in a few years ago to make a short movie that considered a effective and coherent story line alongside vague cinematography and camera work knowledge. This was one of my first experiences with film and how cuts can be manipulated and repeated to get the best possible outcome, and it was my first introduction to editing with the usage of windows movie maker.

The Journey Begins

Congratulations on starting your journey towards becoming a creative and reflective film producer! Start your journey by commenting on your favourite genres and your reasons for being a fan - aim to explore conventions of genre and profile a notable director!