Film review content

‘Breaking Point’, the latest film by directors Abigail Ababio and ShaToya Rose (who also stars in the film)
tells the story of two girls who meet by chance after reaching their breaking points, hence the title of the film. Lisa (Angelika Kupczyk) is a drug addict and Aaliyah (ShaToya Rose) who suffers from bulimia believe that their addictions replace their losses.

Taunted by images of skinny models portrayed in the media and the neglect of her family, Aaliyah falls into the trap of an eating disorder that is beyond her control. From her thoughts and feelings, we learn the extent of her habit and just how it has affected her life. After receiving another feckless note from her mother pinned to the fridge, Aaliyah believes that it’s confirmation of her worthlessness and causes
her troubles.

Lisa on the other hand, whose aim is to cover up the bereavement of her boyfriend, becomes the prey of hard drugs convinced that they allow her to escape her poor reality. Constantly reminding herself of the past, Lisa slowly pushes herself to the edge (figuratively) but reaches the limit after realising that she doesn’t want to end up the same as him.

Unaware that a more fitting life is possible for the both of them, they accept their fate from the start.
‘Breaking Point’ is a film about the stresses of life and the tolls they takeon people. It’s a film that recognises eating disorders and drug abuse whilst disregarding the idea that people can’t escape from their clutches. It’s a realistic representation that provides a complete in-their-shoes outlook that keeps the audience engrossed from beginning to end.

Eventually, Aaliyah and Lisa start to gain control of their fixations in hope of being freed from captivity,
with the help of one another but it’s not an easy fight as the directors (Abigail Ababio and ShaToya Rose) have the tendency to introduce new dilemmas just when you think the battle is over.

The film arrives here after its extremely positive critical acclaim from the Sundance film festival that emphasises it’s a must-see film. So should you believe the hype? Yes! ‘Breaking Point’ is a
very moving film and has some great performances from the two leading ladies
Angelika Kupczyk and ShaToya Rose. When a film pays consideration to such
predicaments and provides courage to characters who hardly receive any
recognition, it has to be saluted. It’s a film containing ups and downs, smiles
and frowns but nonetheless is a touching, genuine perception of life’s
struggles.

Film Review

Film Reviews

The first film review was written by Matthew Turner from View London. http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/kidulthood-film-review-14776.html.
In this review the reviewer focused on the good and bad aspects of the film he uses formal type of language to connect with his audience. Turner told his audience what was good about the film which he said was the actors Aml Ameen and Red Madrell, also the good camerawork by Brian Tufano. The reviewer mainly focused on the actors in the film because when he told his audience what bad points about the film was he commented about Noel Clarke performance. Stating his role starring in his own film his 'well-known face, he detracts from the documentary feel of the film'. Turner does give the a good verdict for the film telling his audience that the film is worth seeing.

The second film review was written by Dave Calhoun from Time Out London. http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/83377/kidulthood.html.
This review is different from View London and starts of straight away with unique selling point 'Noel Clarke' and also his acting past. The use of language in this review was informal trying to approach the target market of the film which is 16 - 24. Calhoun focuses on the plot more in this review and what kind of issues is portrayed in this film like suicide, drugs, unwanted pregnancy, knives, guns etc. The reviewer tends to focus on the plot, the music used and the languague used in the film. Commenting that the music used if ftom the streets and artist like Shystie, Dizzee Rascal and other artist feature on the soundtrack. The reviewer didn't mention anything about camera or editing techniques used in the film.

The thrid film review was written by Nick de Semlyen from Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=133162
The use of language in this review was formal type of language. The reviewer in this review focused on the plot of the movie and what the film was trying to potray and the message they was trying to get across to young people. Semlyen compares the film to other films like 'City of God' and 'La Haine'. However Semlyen did mention the actress 'Jaime Winstone' and her father 'Ray Winstone' letting the audience know only her performance in the film was the most entertaining aspect of the film. The unique selling point which is the actors in the film wasn't mentioned in the text. I believe Semlyen didn't focus on the actors because he didn't believe the plot was realistic. The reviewer starts of explaining the plot on goes on to his review on the film and then his verdict. In addition he didn't metion about editing techniques used in the film only that shooting style was unrealistic.

Poster Analysis

Kidulthood is a social drama film and the genre is communicated through the poster by the use of mise-en-scene and appearance of the characters. One of the things you see is bat (prop) being held by one of the main characters in the film; this straight away gives the consumer an idea that the film may be social drama with violence involved. Also the location that is used for the poster, seem like it is on a roof top of a block of flats. That’s straight tell its going to be about a social - drama, in a urban area and you can see shadows of other houses and block of flats in the background of the poster.

The characters appearance tells a story as soon as you see their pictures. There are seven teens on the poster and all in different poses and costumes. The first two characters are sitting close with their arms on each other, the boy's costume is a dark black tracksuit and trainers, while the girl who is siting between his legs costume is a pink top and cardigan, black skirt, boots and tights and hair straight down to her shoulders. The next two chartcers are also close together; the boy's costume is a black jacket, trousers, trainers, grey hooded jumper, white t-shirt and sliver chain. The other young girl costume is a demin jacket, black hooded jumper, white t-shirt, jeans and trainers. These four teenagers look very close together, as if they have a situation or problem in the which straight away gives a sense that the film is social - drama and something happens to those four. The other three characters on the poster and individual standing/sitting by themselves, the young girl sitting on the wall costume is a pink top and leggings, demin skirt with brown boots and her hair tied up to the side. The next boy is sitting on the floor. His costume is a black jacket and jeans, with a grey hooded jumper, trainers and a hat. The last character is standing up with a blue hooded tracksuit, white trainers and is holding a bat. The appearance that these young characters communicate to the reviewers straight away that this film is going to be a social drama and looks like violence, sex and drugs will be involved.

The title of the film 'KiDULTHOOD' raises connotations because it makes the audience think this film is going to show what young people get up to before they become a adult like drugs, alcohol, gangs and violence and straight away just by seeing the title it tells the audience its going to be a social drama. The unique selling point of the poster is the characters, the costumes wearing and the poses/positions they are standing and sitting in sells the film and what it mostly going to be about and the situation that may arise in the film. Also another USP is the location and where the picture of the poster has been taken and showing the reviewers it is in an urban area.

The font used on this poster is very unique the title is all written in upper case expect for the 'i' which written in lower case ('KiDULTHOOD'). The written language used indicates that this film is for teenagers because it is mostly teens who write and talk in slang. This shows that genre once again is going to be about young people and their social issues. Also the title is written in a bold font and is white, which brightly stands out on the poster and is one of the first things you see when looking at the poster. 'Before adulthood comes ...' is the tagline used for this film, its writing in lower case and sits right above the title 'KiDULTHOOD' so it says 'Before adulthood comes ... KiDULTHOOD' this tagline is a simple but catchy tagline, that will stick in the target mind which is young people aged from 15 - 19. The film is going to be about young people and all the things they get up to before they become an adult. KiDULTHOOD is rated a 15, I believe there target audience would be young people between the ages of 15 - 19 because the film will show day to day social dramas that happen in a day to day teenagers life and I believe a lot of young people will connect to it.

Textual Analysis

Title: 4.3.2.1

Date of release: 2 June 2010

Name of director: Noel Clarke, Mark Davis

Genre: Thriller - Crime

The movie includes the typical conventions of a thriller – crime movie. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods such as; a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectancy, ambiguity, apprehension, suspense, excitement, tension, fright. Literary devices such as cliff-hangers are used extensively. The use of restricting important information from the viewer and fight/chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres.

Common methods in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, and kidnappings. More common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit technique. Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/death-traps, horror-of-personality, and obsession. Elements such as fringe theories, false accusations, paranoia, and sometimes action are common in paranoid thrillers.

The film 4.3.2.1 portrays the conventions from above such as captivities, when one of the girls Shannon is help captive, the film delivers the whodunit technique although it’s kind of obvious in the film who has stolen the diamonds. The film also deals with the subject of death with the character Shannon when she considering committing suicide.

The equilibrium of this film is when the girls are meeting at the coffee shop to catch-up with each other. But the audience could argue that the film doesn’t have equilibrium as it starts with a disruption as in the opening sequence, the girl is holding the gun to her friend ‘Shannon’ as she is preparing to commit suicide. This leaves the audience to suspense as it jumps to a scene which would be perceived to be the equilibrium which the girl is portrayed to be in a state of normality.So ultimately they haven’t followed Todorov’s equilibrium model but at the same times they have addressed the typical convention of a crime-thriller by creating suspense, ambiguity, apprehension for the audience.

This is the scene when ‘Shannon’ is trying to commit suicide. The film uses a restricted form of narrative because the audience is unaware as to why she is doing this due to the narrative being non- chronological as they have shown this at the very beginning as part of the opening sequence.

This is the scene when the 4 girls are catching up over coffee in the café and they are interacting in conversation, which the audience would suggest to be the equilibrium as this is the girl’s state of normality.

They use an unusual way of applying the ‘Levi-Strauss’ model of binary opposition in the movie as through new equilibrium where the ladies are reunited after saving Shannon and suggest a break to America, when they are on a plane the camera progresses to showing that their nemesis is also on the plane, without them being aware but the way each of the characters have been portrayed is as if they have switched roles.Ultimately the use of binary oppositions in the film is manipulated and unconventional is order to follow the typical convention of a thriller.

The use of mise-en-scene in this shot is used to manipulate the audience into think this character ‘villain’ is now the ‘victim’ especially with her body language and her emphasising her scars those girls gave her and her being dressed in white it all contributes to leaving the audience why she’s there, or if she’s meant to be there.

The use of this ‘quote'' good girls cum last p.s love you...all!'’ in the film and it being used at the end of the film makes the audience abit confused as you usually see the good side of a battle or a situation win and come first at the end but this quote suggest the opposite so it is manipulating the ideas and connotations surrounding good and bad. Also, as it was written by one of the girls who are supposedly meant to be the good ‘victims’.

The film is shown in a non-chronological order as the audience sees the different viewpoints of the women from the same day, so it’s going from start to finish four consecutive times instead of going the normal beginning to end. So it’s a reoccurrence on some of the shot we view in the movie.

Part two:

The way the characters are portrayed in the movie though the use of mise-en-scene is exaggerated but also stereotypical through the use of props and costume. For example the two girls in bikini’s and lingerie being portrayed as sex symbols cater to the typical conventions in the way they portray the girls in the film. The use of the restricted narrative is also key to the representation of the characters as the characters are portrayed to be teens and a typical teenager is not always open with parents and friends and sometimes hides stuff especially when they re going through something emotionally, which I believe is enforced through the restricted narrative. The use of mise-en-scene contributed to the representation of the age of the characters in this film as the use of setting / location.

The way the director has used mise-en-scene to represent the age and ethnicity of the characters has been shot in a stereotypical way to address the typical conventions of this genre, with the use of costume in the film, for example when Cassandra is being chased by the boys she kidnapped she being protected by a group of black people so it look like the boy is outnumbered and inferior to them. They are dressed in dark colours and hoodies and tracksuits which suggest to the audience that they are in a gang and by ‘Cassandra being dressed in a hoodie it helps her blend in.

Also, the way light is used in the film as the majority of the scenes are shot in quite dark, sinister locations as well as at night time to address the conventions of mystery, ambiguity.

The storyline of the film caters to the typical conventions of a thriller – crime movie and what usually a film of this genre should contain. The film has high level of anticipation, which leaves a lot of ambiguity especially as each time the storyline is changed to another girls point of view, it end with an enigma code which leaves the audience wondering why the girl has been let in that situation before it is revealed through another girls point of view. For example when the audience sees Shannon upset and distraught and basically at breaking point when it comes to the end of her point of view but as the film develops through Joanne’s point of view at the end of the film we get to see why Shannon is so upset. So by doing that the audience was left in suspense which is following the convention of a typical thriller-crime film.

The use of camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene in this film caters to the typical conventions of a thriller-crime film. Through the use of editing such as the montage used throughout the film it help the audience understand the rapid fast paced lives that the girls have obtained due to their involvement in the diamond robbery. Also, through the use of non-diegetic sounds at the end of the film suggest somethingthreatening to compliment the open narrative which also leaves room for a sequel. The use of close-upshots at the beginning of the movie when the girls are catching up at the café is so that they can be introduce as the main characters to the audience. The use of long shots especially in the chased scenes it helps the audience understand the location they are in. The use of the off-screen diagetic sound in the kidnapping scene, when the character Cassandra captures the boys who were stalking her, we hear the pain which Cassandra was going through the voices of those enlisting her pain. The use of straight cuts in the majority of the film gives it a more realistic feel to it in the attempt to make the audience connect with it a bit more.

Film Review - Content

The 1st film review was from The Guardian:http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/may/27/4-3-2-1-film-review

• The use of language in this review demonstrates a good balance of formal as well as informal language as they are trying to reach a wider audience.
• The writer uses words such as 'quirky' and 'steamy' which are quite informal trying to reach their target audience which is probably 16-21 yr olds.
• In the review they tend to focus on the director 'Noel Clarke' who also stars in the movie as he is part of the unique selling point.

The 2nd review was from 'Total Film':

http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/4-3-2-1

• The review contains quite informal language which is quite punchy and to the point such as 'lippy' and 'sass-bomb' which is aimed at the target audience of 16-21 yr olds.
• The reviewer tends to focus on the actors mostly in the content of this review as it comments on the four leading ladies and also the rapper 'eve'. who are also part of the USP.

The 3rd film review is from 'Empire Magazine':

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=118500

• As the magazine is already highly credible for their film reviews, the use of wording was quite formal but descriptive due to the technical jargon being use as 'neon-highlighted' and 'titillation' which enforces that they know what they are talking about.
• The reviewer also tends to comment on the director and actor 'Noel Clarke' as he is part of the USP of the film.
• They also comment on well knowns actors and celebrities that either helped produce the film or made cameos in the film which added to their credibility as reviewers and helped the ratings for the film.

The initial layout for our film review

Rough draft of our film review