Main Task Evaluation

Moving On. (Final edit)

Main Task Storyline - Moving On.

The film follows a main antagonist and his attempts to stalk a young women. The antagonist acts as an anti-hero because as the film develops we find out his reasons for his obsession and the audience can hopefully relate to them.

The start of the film is largely conventional within the thriller genre. It acts to set up the characters and establish the key locations of the film as well as to introduce the main plot devices; notes left by the antagonist that give the protagonist a choice of effectively handing out death sentences to total strangers. Although the protagonist doesn't take the first note seriously, she learns the hard way that they are deadly serious. During the film opening it seems quite clear who the villains are, but as the film progresses this distinction becomes hazy as the situation progresses and the methods used to try and catch the antagonist grow ever more extreme, to the point of rivaling the notes themselves.

Near the start of the film, we are introduced to the young womans boyfriend, who is leading the police investigation into the killings. Although the couple are united at the start of the film, the unconventional methods used soon start to draw a line between them and the boyfriend soon becomes as obsessed with catching the killer as the killer is with the main protagonist. This allows the audience to choose who to take sides with in the film; although the stalker is undoubtedly in the wrong, his motives are far more understandable than the methods employed to catch him. The start of the film also establishes that the antagonist and protagonist are childhood friends and ex-lovers. The reason for their split is left unsaid.

The turning point of the film arrives around half way through when the police manage to find a partially covered fingerprint on one of the notes left by the killer. Although this is seems promising at first, the antagonist turns out to not be on the database so he escapes and continues with his note writing and killing. Despite this lead not amounting to anything, it furthers the boyfriends obsession with finding the killer and it is at this point at which the protagonist decides to leave him. Active audience members may now see the antagonist's plan truly coming into effect.

The protagonist leaves to live with her parents and is followed by her stalker, who seems to know exactly where to go. When she arrives at her parents house, she finds another note on the door stating that they have been kidnapped and will only be returned on two conditions. The rest of the note is written on the back of the paper, but before she has a chance to read it, her mobile phone rings. She answers and we hear a muffled voice that she correctly guesses is the stalker. He orders her inside the house, but she refuses to do what he says. Angered, he tells her that unless that unless she complies she will never see her parents again. Reluctantly, she walks inside and finds a gun on the kitchen table.

The climactic scenes show the protagonist as she struggles to cope with the ever increasing stress of the notes and their consequences. She continues to cooperate with the police and even goes so far as to confiding her worries with her alienated boyfriend; however he can only think about his job and she grows frustrated with him. She tells him about the gun in the hope that this will help her cause, but it only pins suspicion on her, as the weapon perfectly matches the bullets found in the victims bodies.

The ending to the film takes place as we finally discover the conditions of the stalker: Hand in the gun after 14 days; collect a package from a certain address in 15 days.

The reasoning behind these demands becomes clear as the police first start to suspect the protagonist when she hands in the gun and then she is seen collecting a suspicious parcel from a known arms dealer. She is brought in for questioning, but does not mention the note or phone call to the police in fear of her parents life. She is held in the police station overnight and in the morning she is woken to the news that someone wants to see her. The antagonist walks in and delivers an ultimatum to her. Either go back to live with him, or go to prison for mass murder. She is left with no choice and he manges to pin the murders on someone else.

After a court hearing the two leave together. She sees for the first time his absolute devotion to her and how he has based his life around getting her back. She is taken aback by this, but before she can speak to him, the antagonist is shot by the boyfriend who has been lying in wait all along.

Crime film openings ( Group work taken from www.cherwellmediafbirnie.blogspot.com)

Ocean's twelve: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS1MIW7T5no

1) There is a rich and luxurious setting which is established by the location (Rome) and by the decorations of the house such as chandeliers.
2) Brad Pitt's character is shown to be a smart criminal, because of his tactical getaway from his girlfriend who is investigating a crime he did. We also see casual aspects of his personality as he brushes his shoe under the table and pours himself a glass of wine when he gets home.
3) We don't know what crime he did, this enigma code is established by his secrecy and also the fact that his girlfriend doesn't specify what crime it was. Another mystery is where does he escape to. This one is more obviously set up because the scene ends just as he runs away, but we are given scope to imagine the answer because we know he is a criminal and he would make clever decisions because of his resourceful personality.

The Italian Job: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z8aLdIejPs

1) Setting is established with panoramic shots of the mountain range anchored with (diegetic) relaxing music, so the idea the viewer gets is that it takes place in a scenic alpine area, until the explosion when they realise there is an underbelly of crime.
2) Although the character only lives for a few minutes, we get an idea of his life; he is shown as simply driving along the road, but the music and the way he smokes symbolise a laid-back lifestyle and maybe an average one, because these are normal things to do. The sudden way he dies also establishes the character of the other man shown at the end and the ruthless way he carries out his actions.
3) The main enigma codes at this point are: Is there a reason this man was killed? and, Who are the group shown at the end? The lack of dialogue heightens the enigma of these questions, as does the organised set-up at the end of the tunnel. These make us guess that they could be criminals, but the main mystery is why the crash happened, and we have no leverage as such on this subject because so little is given away.

Rear window: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3N-xeqVruM

1) A claustrophobic and detached setting is established by panning shots of the character's street. Several different people's everyday lives are shown which also foreshadows the content of the rest of the movie. The main idea of the opening setting is that the camera looks out on the outside world.
2) All we see of the main character is him asleep in a chair, but we do learn "hints" about his personality through camera shots and mis-en-scene. The way the shot follows the cat and focuses on the woman across the street reflect an obsessive nature and, juxtaposed with the energetic music, suggest that it is a disingenuous perspective.
3) Enigmas are: What is going to happen? We already gather that it is the main character who cannot walk (because of his broken leg) so maybe he takes an active interest in observing what is outside because he can't do much else, so does something awful happen? Probably, because it was suggested with the sinister panning shot but we have no idea what it is going to be.

The Bill Analysis

During the clip I watched, the two main characters were talking about a suspect, in the main briefing room. The main shots are of either the two officers talking, or of the suspects photo on the board. The sound is all diagetic, with no background music playing. This creates the impression of being inside an inner circle, with nothing between us and the police. The lighting in the police station is bright and vibrant as is appropriate for the 'goodies' in a tv drama.

The police are always viewed in a two shot, telling us that hey are both on the same side and have a close relationship. When the camera shot does change, it shows the picture of the suspect on his own, creating the impression that he is working agianst the police, and therefore against us. The suspect himself is a stereotypical criminal, a young black man wearing a tracksuit and beanie. This stereotype is used so that the character doesn't need to be introduced as a criminal - he is instantly recognizable.

The clip ends as the one police officer has to take a phone call in a different room, the camera panning around to follow him as he leaves.