Basic Synopsis
The film is set in 1980's Edinburgh, where Mark Renton, a heroin addict is trying to come clean. The story follows his struggle to wean himself off the stuff hit after hit. After nearly dying of an overdose, he moves to London and gets back on track owning his own flat. However he gets mixed up with his friends again and they make a dangerous heroin transaction, coming into a large amount of money. As the others sleep, Renton leaves with the money and then vows to live a stable, traditional life.
The film is set in 1980's Edinburgh, where Mark Renton, a heroin addict is trying to come clean. The story follows his struggle to wean himself off the stuff hit after hit. After nearly dying of an overdose, he moves to London and gets back on track owning his own flat. However he gets mixed up with his friends again and they make a dangerous heroin transaction, coming into a large amount of money. As the others sleep, Renton leaves with the money and then vows to live a stable, traditional life.
Codes and conventions- Does this film conform to the codes and conventions of Social Realism?
The use of unknown actors- this was Ewan McGregor's (Renton) 4th film, however this was his first big one, and this film was Kelly Macdonald's (Diane) debut.
One main protagonist- The plot follows the ups and downs of one character predominately (Renton).
Most films use teenagers or young adults (13-20)- The majority of the group were in their 20's, though Begbie looks older and more aged.
Working class- It is set in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh.
Set in council estates or 'run down' areas in suburban locations- Set in urban locations such as Edinburgh and London and Allison flat which is presumably on some sort of council estate.
Location shooting (not a studio/film set)- many location shots were used such as Princes Street which is a real street in Edinburgh.
Explores at least more than one of topical themes- the themes of drug use, substance abuse, sex, violence, money and urban poverty are illustrated
Does it break any?
Things that inspired us about this film:-
The use of unknown actors- this was Ewan McGregor's (Renton) 4th film, however this was his first big one, and this film was Kelly Macdonald's (Diane) debut.
One main protagonist- The plot follows the ups and downs of one character predominately (Renton).
Most films use teenagers or young adults (13-20)- The majority of the group were in their 20's, though Begbie looks older and more aged.
Working class- It is set in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh.
Set in council estates or 'run down' areas in suburban locations- Set in urban locations such as Edinburgh and London and Allison flat which is presumably on some sort of council estate.
Location shooting (not a studio/film set)- many location shots were used such as Princes Street which is a real street in Edinburgh.
Explores at least more than one of topical themes- the themes of drug use, substance abuse, sex, violence, money and urban poverty are illustrated
Does it break any?
- there are some unnatural scenes in the film, to show the effect of the drugs, so we could say that this is not abiding to the idea or verisimilitude.
- Some scene cuts in the film are not true to real life. For example, at the end of one scene Renton is seen jumping off a wall outside. It then cuts to a shot of him landing inside a building. This is not naturalistic.
Things that inspired us about this film:-
- The idea of portraying what is inside the heads of characters. (Our lead is drunk and so we like the idea of her hearing the memory of her mother shouting, which we can show through the sound of a muffling, echoed voice played over the score.)
- The use of voiceovers is something we could experiment with, to give a clear back story of the main character.
No comments:
Post a Comment