Comparing and Analysing ‘An Education’ (2009) and ‘From Hell’ (2001)
‘An Education’ which was produced in 2009 and directed by Nick Hornby, is a film that is set in the era of 1961, in the suburban Twickenham, London. It follows the stifling situation of 16 year old Jenny who still stuck in an adolescent routine, but wanting to break free and reach adulthood. Set in the era of much change for women, Jenny wants to experience the excitement and thrill of being an adult whilst as her father tries to tie her down to a sensible path of attending university at Oxford. The plot which is based on the memoirs of Lynn Barber, and demonstrate the real life situation of a girl coming of age. My 5 minutes analysis is taken from 1 minute 30 seconds from the start to 7 minutes, I have decided to compare and contrast it against a 5 minute sequence from the film ‘From Hell’, looking at the section from 2 minutes from the start to 8 minutes. ‘From Hell’ was directed by the Hughes Brothers and produced in 2001. It too is set in London; however in contrast to the suburban splendour of a middle class society, it follows the poor living in the deadly slums of Whitechapel. A film set in 1888; it relates to the case study of Jack the Ripper, and follows Inspector Fred Abberline as he tries to solve the cases of the gruesome murders of the prostitutes from the streets of Whitechapel, the film demonstrates woman at their most vulnerable state. Another reason why I specifically chose these time frames was because women in both of these frame times are the main characters, allowing me to compare and contrast how women were portrayed in different time periods in history.
One of the key terms to analysing a film is looking at Genre. This is defined as "the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed” (Wikipedia definition). The term Genre consists of sub-categories that allow a range of films to be grouped together, a few examples of genre classifications are; period dramas = ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ (2008), romantic comedies = ‘Love Actually’ (2003) and Musicals = ‘Hairspray’ (2007) (an example of how a film can be classified is when they consist of recognisable events for example a film classified under the genre of western tend to consist of ho-downs). Two other popular genres are Drama and Horror; for a film to be grouped as a drama it must portray realistic characters in a realistic life situation, it must also demonstrate the character at their best, their worst, and everything in-between. Drama is a popular genre as it allows the audience to be able to relate to the character. ‘An Education’ is classified under this genre due to the fact it is based on the memoir of Lynn Barber, therefore it demonstrates everyday obstacles that many watchers can relate to. The other popular genre is horror this, in contrast to a drama entices the audience by invoking fear through the expression of an extreme (usually gruesome) situation. For a film to be classified under the genre of horror it must captivate an audience member by causing dread and alarm, to do this it must invoke the audiences hidden fears, it must play on our vulnerability whilst keeping us captivated and entertained. ‘From Hell’ plays of our sub-conscious fear of death through the gruesome murders of the prostitutes, however it not only demonstrate horror it also demonstrates several other genres making it an example of a hybrid film, this also causes a contrasting element between ‘An Education’ and ‘From Hell’. ‘An education’ is singled out as a drama, as it demonstrate the realistic situation of a girl (Jenny) coming of age whilst as ‘From Hell’ is classified mainly as a horror, but also a thriller (as it allows for a high level of suspense when the audience are left wondering who is next to be killed), crime (as it allows the audience to follow the lives of both the victims and the detectives) and mystery (as it demonstrates the detective, Inspector Fred Abberline solving the murders through a number of clues).
Sound allows the audience to develop their own ideas of the film from an acoustic form, therefore making it another key element to the creation of a film. ‘An Education’ demonstrated the use of both digenetic and non-digenetic sound within my five minute analysis. From 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes 45 seconds, a non-digenetic sound is played in the form of the song “teen scene” (the hunters – 1961). Non- digenetic means a sound which can only be heard by the audience not the character, therefore the characters do not interact with the sound in any narrative form (another exemplar film where non-digenetic sound is used in the opening is ‘American Beauty’). This choice of 1960’s music gives the audience a sense of the era in which the film is set in, without having to formally communicate this information with the audience. It is also a young song which as a teenager the audience may have listened to so therefore creating another element where the audience can relate to the film, but also giving the first sense of the age of the character involved. Digenetic sound however is audio that the character can hear, therefore interact with. It is used in the period from 4 minutes 10 seconds to 4 minutes 20 seconds, through the form of the orchestra; we can tell this is digenetic sound as the conductor reacts to the music. Sound not only can give an insight into the film, but it can also create the sense of suspense and anticipation. ‘From Hell’ uses (similar to ‘An Education’) both digenetic and non-digenetic sound, however in contrast to where ‘An Education’ uses sound to inform the audience, ‘From Hell’ uses it to play on the audiences emotion and create the sense of fear in the atmosphere. Low-toned non-digenetic base sounds are used, to create the image of the dark and deadly slums of London. The atmosphere of the setting is also instated through the digenetic sounds. The use of the high-pitched women arguing and bartering, carts of the cobbled streets, men urinating and people being sick creates the hustle and bustle of the dark dirty slums of London at night. The sound of the clock is a metaphor to the audience of the change between night and day, with the hustle and bustle being toned down, demonstrating that the quieter period is day for the prostitutes.
Another key term when analysing a film is Mise-en-Scene. This is a French term that means “what is put into a scene”. It is the visual information in front of the camera that sends essential information and signals to the audience; this is done through the hidden meanings portrayed in each of the elements. There are five major aspects that contribute to the construction of the term Mise-en-Scene; Setting and props, costume, hair and make-up, lighting and colour, facial expressions and body language and the position of the characters and objects within the frame.
‘An Education’ uses the element of costume, hair and make-up to explore the characters and changes of the 1960’s. Firstly it informs us that Jenny is school age, due to the full shot (a full shot is one where the whole body is in the frame and so do it the environment) of her in school uniform (1 minute 30 seconds from the start). From the uniform the audience can also come to their own conclusions of the social class that Jenny comes from, I personally concluded that she comes from an upper middle class family, as the uniform give the impression of a private school education. The dull grey and long skirts of the uniform demonstrate that girls were still not encouraged to express their own personalities or wishes through the education system (Jenny is constrained to follow her father’s wishes of attending university at oxford). However in the era of 1960’s society was changing and more women were being accepted into the world of work, rather than just being expected to be a housewife. The mothers costume at 2 minutes 45 seconds is a short printed dress, the dress is helping her express some individuality, and contradicting the stereo-type look of a housewife. However the colors of the dress are dark and the jacket is beige, showing older women still felt constrained, and change was harder to accept by the older generation. We can tell from the fathers costume at 2 minutes 45 seconds, that the 60’s was still very different to that of modern day, due to the fact males still felt they had to have the most authority in the family, the higher authority is shown through the suit that the father wears however now days a mother and father is of the same status. Similar to ‘An Education’, ‘From Hell’ also uses costume, hair and make-up to send signals, of the personalities, era and that social class of characters to the audience. From 2 minutes to 2 minutes 20 seconds, we have a moving shot going down the outside of a brick wall, where we see views of women in bonnets through the windows as the camera moves down the wall, this allows the watcher to establish that the film is set in the Victorian era (a bonnet is recognizable item for Victorians ladies to wear). At two minute 30 seconds we are shown a full shot of the slum street, the male characters are in flat caps, which allow the audience to conclude a lower class society, the women at 2 minutes 50 seconds also enforce the lower class society due to their dull, ragged dresses, rather than the soft, thick material used by the upper class ladies for their dresses. However the fact that even the lower class are in long dresses demonstrate that women were constrained and restricted in this era due to lack of personality and expression. At 3 minutes 8 seconds, there is a medium shot (a shot that consists of the upper body and head) of Mary and one of the other prostitutes; the costumes of which they wear demonstrate their occupation of prostitution, with Mary showing her collar bone and the other has enhancing their chest with a fishnet top. As a watcher we can interrupt Mary as a fierce woman, due to the use of her fiery orange hair.
The setting and props are also a key aspect to Mise-en-Scene. ‘An Education’ presents three key settings in the opening, one being Jenny’s School, one Jenny’s home and the other a street setting. The setting of a school is produced straight away through the use of the hula hoop props (1 minute 45 seconds) and the classification of a private school is produced due to the use of the lacost stick (1 minute 55 seconds). There is a full shot view of the school at 4 minutes 49 seconds, which demonstrates an elegant Victorian building, this is turn enhances the assumption of a private school. The other setting is Jenny’s house, at 1 minute 30 seconds the audience makes an assumption that she lives in one of the Victorian terraces of which are seen in the full shot of her, this gives the impression that she comes from a well off background, there is snow which also makes an idyllic picture postcard home. However we do not see the outside shot of her house in the five minutes I have chosen, only the living/dining area. The wall and furniture are brown, beige and grey colors, and only a small range of ornaments are on display. It is a room that lacks personality, and demonstrates how the elder generation of that era were particular cautious of what others thought of them. The lack of ornaments shows a room that has been constrained, this can be seen as a metaphor to how Jenny feels constrained and stifled by her father. From 5 to 7 minutes, the setting is once again by the Victorian terraced houses, however we get the impression that the wealth of the family might be more of a show than actual reality as Jenny is waiting for a bus it becomes clear she does not in the picture postcard Victorian terraced street. The weather in this scene, acts as its own prop, the rain creates a stereo-typical romantic setting, and when the car pull over’s at 5 minutes 10 seconds, the audience can start to picture together how the story plot is going to plan out (the dashing young man and innocent naive school girl drying to grow up). This street scene also enhances the difference between the 60’s and modern day technology with the prop of the pram at 5 minutes 11 seconds, it is big and sturdy as it was common for the women to have to walk far in the 60’s as cars were expensive, unlike today where it is common to have at least two cars, a family were lucky to have one and that car would always be used by the male over the female. ‘From Hell’ demonstrates two settings, the streets of Whitechapel and a warehouse. The setting of the streets is portrayed in time spectrums; night and day. The cobbled streets are dark and dirty with a pub on the corner it meets to the stereo-type setting of a historical city. The moving shot going through the street; demonstrate the night time hustle and bustle; there is fog in the air which also creates a sense of mystery and suspense. For-telling is demonstrated at 4 minutes 40 seconds with the knife; and Mary’s life being threatened. The streets in the light of day try to hide the true secrets of prostitution however; with more wealthier people walking around this is portrayed through the prop of a top hat (5 minutes 50 seconds), everyone tries to clean up their act in the day time this is conveyed by the prostitutions trying to neaten themselves up 5 minutes 20 seconds to 5 minutes 40 seconds. The other setting is the warehouse (which is where Mary is staying) this being a complete contrast to the clean, family living room in ‘An Education’, rather than the family dining table, there is only a bench to sleep on, it conveys the peak of poverty in 1888.
Another aspect to Mise-en-Scene is the lighting and color. ‘An Education’ represents the natural light of which would be presented in real life in that situation this adds to the classification of drama as the genre, for example at 2 minutes 38 seconds, the classroom has only the natural light coming through the window (natural light is one similarity between ‘An Education’ and ‘From Hell’ as both use it in the film clips). At 2 minutes 49, the lighting used in ‘An Education’ is from the dim lamps in the living room, it holds a level of depression in the air, which could be a symbol that the family’s relationship is not all brightness and happiness, but there is an underlying resent felt by Jenny for being constrained to childhood. The use of lighting is also a key element in ‘From Hell’ it helps create different time frames, but also levels of suspense and mystery that is key to a crime horror. Throughout the night street setting and warehouse scene (2 minutes to 5 minutes 18 seconds) the lighting is dim; this demonstrates the sense of darkness physically however it also creates the sense of fear which Mary holds. The time era is also shown through light; the only source being single candles, the moving shot which allows us to see through the windows (2 minutes) demonstrates that candles were expensive and a room would only have one or two candles to light it. In the church shot at 5 minutes 19 seconds, natural light is used however the clouds are black, demonstrating that a sinister feeling is always looming in the air.
A characters personality and their relationship towards another can be portrayed through a mixture of Mise-en-scene, the relationship is especially expressed through the facial expressions and body language and the position of the characters within the frame, making it two major elements to the construction of a film. ‘An Education’ portrays the sense of childhood friendship, throughout the clip. Firstly at 1 minute 54 seconds the facial expressions of girls smiling and laughing allows a raw emotion to be felt in the viewer, as they relate and remember the friendships created in high school. The relationship between Jenny and her parents can also be analysed through these elements of Mise-en-scene. The father is sat very straight, whilst as the mother bends over, demonstrating the father is a more dominant figure (2 minute 50 seconds). Romance is felt throughout the whole of ‘An Education’ at 5 minute 30 seconds we get our first insight into the complicated story of romance that is to follow, Jenny’s eyes express her raw emotions and feelings to this mystery man, a situation which the audience can again relate to falling in love with the wrong man, it allows the audience to for-see how the plot is going to plan out. ‘From hell’ mainly explores the topic of sexuality between characters due to the occupation of prostitution but it also looks at friendship between the girls, you get the sense of the true friendship between the girls throughout the 5 minutes sequence; at 5 minutes 11 seconds they are sleeping on a bench leaning on each other, a comfort to each of them when they have no real family. It also look at the hatred between Mary and some of the men this is shown at 3 minutes 56 seconds through the facial expressions of anger on the men, Marys eyes allow the audience to see her fright even if her body language shows someone who is confident by sticking out her chest. The relationship between a mother and child is also shown at 5 minutes 46, she is happy which can be seen through the facial expression of her smile; the hold she has on the child is protective and loving. The emotion of jealousy is also shown by one of the women at 6 minutes 12 seconds through her facial expressions and arms closed against her chest.
Both films are contrasting genres and many would state they do not hold any similar links however both films explore falling in love with a man who they shouldn’t. Both Mary and Jenny feel constrained in their lives, both having wishes and hopes of something better and bigger.
Trailers of my film choices
'An Education' (2010)
'From Hell' (2001)
No comments:
Post a Comment