In Bruges

"In Bruges"
Directed by Martin McDonagh - (2008)

"In Bruges", differs greatly to the other thrillers I have been researching. The main difference being that "In Bruges" is a thriller/comedy. "In Bruges" uses black - comedy, in a way which makes you smile even at the most darkest of moments, which makes it a very interesting film to research. The basic plot is that hitman Ray (farrell) is sent on a job when it goes awry, he is then sent to Bruges to lie low and wait for further orders.

Here we have a shot, that is used during the opening credits of the film. This shot is one of many that effectively sets the scene of the film. During which, a narration is spoken by one of the main characters (Colin Farell). This shot tells us much about the upcomming film, the use of lighting here suggests that the film will be quite dark, the cobbeled streets suggest a world of deceit and mystery, and could quite easily give the impression of a Jack the Ripper like character. The music that plays during the credits adds a feeling of suspense to the images and the narration is of a very dark murder that Colin Farell's character commited. All in all the credits suggest that this will be a very dark and gloomy film that will cover various thriller/crime conventions.

The next image used here, is a very dark image. The image shows Ray (Farrell) murdering one of his targets, who is infact a priest he is confessing too. This image is very disturbing and very graphic, and fits in with the mood of the film. McDonagh uses the setting of a confession chamber as an ironic setting, Ray confesses to a murder before commiting that very murder on the priest he has confessed too. It is this ironic/dark comedy that makes "In Bruges" the film it is. Furthermore McDonagh uses a barrier between the priest and Ray in the form of a wodden door to suggest that prehaps Ray is in secret regretting the various murderous acts he has commited - he does not want to view the people he kills.


This final image from "In Bruges" shows two of the hitmen up a bell tower in the city. Again McDonagh uses a somehwat obscure setting for a murder, but at the same time comicly fitting. In this shot Mcdonagh uses the stereotypical modern day gangster/hitman clothing to show who is in control, he gives Harry (right) a well dressed look suggesting he is the boss, while he gives Ken (left) a much dirtier and scruffier look, suggesting he is not. Mcdonagh also gets Ken to look up to Harry suggesting he is below him, and this could also show that Ken has some admiration for Harry even though he is going to take his life. Finaly Mcdonagh uses the ledge between the two concrete pillars as a sort of picture frame, this suggests the two characters are trapped and that their skirmish will have to be sorted in this confined space.

Once Upon a Time in America

"Once Upon a Time in America"
Directed by Sergio Leone - (1984)

"Once Upon a Time in America" directed by Sergio Leone, is a crime/thriller that works hard on portraying life in 20th century America. Leone uses various techniques and conventions to show his views on the lifestyle of both gangster and civilian alike in this passionate and effective outlook of post war America.

Here we have an image taken from one of the first scenes of the film, an unsuspecting femmefatale is seen walking into a darkened room. Leone uses a the lamp as a focal point in this scene, switched on by the women it lightens up the gloomy surroundings. Arguably the lamp could be used by Leone to represent the women. This is hinted at later on during the scene where the women is brutally murdered and the lamp is switched off. Aswell as the lighting in this scene, there is much focus on the general colours of the room and indeed the womens clothing, a somewhat plainly coloured dress worn by the women suggests she is of little significance, while the bloody red wallpaper could hint at the bloodshed to come. Finaly leone fixates the camera on the womens necklace and jewelry suggesting prehaps she is a wealthy women, adding some glamour to the otherwise glamourless room.

The idea of mystery arises when the women turns back the bed sheets to discover bullet holes shaped in the image of a person, still very much a focal point, the lamp shines its light over the bed. The feeling of distress can be felt by the women as she realises the threat of death is near. Leone uses the rule of thirds to split the room into three seperate focal images. On one side we see a lonely pillow, possibly representing the women being alone, the whiteness of the pillow being used as a direct comparrison to the womens skin. Next we have the human shaped bullet holes a horrific image that both scares and puzzles the onlooker. Thirdly we have the women and the lamp leaning over the bed intrigued and scared of whats to come.

Here is an image taken shortly after the womens discovery of the bullet holes. Leone scares the women and indeed the audience with the sudden appearance of three dangerous looking men, the women who was clearly unaware of their presence now finds herself outnumbered. The camera is again split into three, each third being filled with a character, reinforcing the feeling that the women is very much alone. Leone uses generic gangster clothing to suggest these figures are very dangerous, the long coats and fedora hats being recognisable as early 20th century clothing for the gangster type figure. Leone also uses the camera to show one of the men having his hand in his pocket, this adds suspense as the viewer is not certain what he is holding, and suggests he has a gun or a similiar dangerous weapon.

One of the final shots in this scene, the women now lays dead facing the camera while the three murderers hover over her corpse. Again the lamp is used as a key object in the shot, being the only light source in the room it glares at the camera and lights up the faces of the three gangster looking figures. The shocking extreme close up of the women's dead face adds an element of horror to the fray, her skin now looks even more pale, almost matching her clothes and her glamorous jewelry has been covered up by her clothing, suggesting tshat all her glamour has left her. Meanwhile the three gangster figures look on, looking very profesional and very dangerous.

Once Upon a Time in America - User Ratings

Once Upon a Time in America

I decided to do some research into the general reviews of "Once Upon a Time in America." I used the website IMDB.com to find out the following information.

User Ratings

• Scored 8.4 / 10 overall.
• Mainly male voters - suggests this is a male film.
• Women voted 7.6/10 overall, a little lower than males.
• Most male and female voters were between the ages 18-29

Reviews

Positive Review - "Masterpiece"

"I can really recommend this movie to everyone, but especially to people who like the gangster genre. When you want to see the movie, you better be sure you will have the time for it. This isn't a movie that is finished after 90 minutes. You'll have to be able to stay focued during 3 hours and 47 minutes."

Negative Review - "Just Awful"

"I watched this terribly long, boring, slow, gory, silly film several times. It has nothing, but too much blood, sex, more blood, more sex, child molestering, child death and more blood."

General Reception

Above, are two reviews i found on the IMDB site, one ofcourse as the title suggests being negative while the other being positive, the general reaction to this film, however was overall generaly very positive. A gritty and pleasing Crime/Thriller "Once Upon a Time in America" uses the genre conventions effectively to portray an environment of gangs, sex, murder and lawelessness.

London to Brighton - Marketing and Distribution Research