The rules of the game
This short film is about a man who finds out this his fiancés is cheating on him with his best man. He then plans the best ways in getting revenge on them. The script is very well written. It is interesting and engages the audience. At time it is also comedic, this help maintain the audience attention. Throughout the film only one male actor is shown, occasionally he played other roles in the film. The storyline is unique and seems authentic. The film is targeted for young adults; and is not suitable for under 15 years old. The film is produced by an independent film institution named strike films.
Christopher Harper (the main actor) acting was excellent. His acting helped sustain the interest of the audience. He mostly talked directly at the camera to the audience. This has help the audiences understand and experience how Henry feeling about the deception. The audience feel a sense of involvement though the interaction between the main character and them. They feel like the character is sharing his personal thought to them. This keeps the audience entertained.
Pathetic fallacy is used at the beginning of the film. The weather is cloudy and depressing. The audience straight away learn how the character is feeling. The first few clips of the sky had a hint of red in them. This may represent anger and blood and may foreshadow future events. The message that the audience learn from the short film is that being deceitful to your friends can lead to harmful consequences.
The film is set in a big house in the country side.While Henry is planning his revenge, short clips are shown to help the audience visualise how the revenge maybe carried out. This is vital as it help the audience understand his plan to get revenge better. Close up shots are taken on Henry car. Immediately we can see that his car is dirty, this may indicate to the audience that his ‘hands’ may get dirty while carrying out his devious plan.
The film is a comic-drama. The main character Henry talks in third person while interacting with the audience. The helps communicate with the audience better as they feel that he is telling his personal life story to them. Natural lighting is used when the filming is taking place outdoors; this creates a more realistic effect. Low key lighting is also used in the film e.g. when he is inside the house answering the phone. This helps produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on screen. This represents the fact that he may have two very different sides of him.
There are hardly no music played in the film, the main character addresses the audience directly, this help to establish the mood of the film. Synchronous sound is also used, this can be seen when he dive into the swimming pool. We hear a splash. This contributes to making the film more realistic.
Henry is middle class man; we can see this by looking at the type of clothe he is wearing. Middle class men are being represented as pushovers. This is seen when he does not confront his fiancés about the affair when he finds out. This challenges the convention of a drama film, because normally this would've been the climatic point of the film.
A high angle shot is used when Hendry is going down the stairs, while his talking about hiring a detective. Hendry is shown as being inferior as his fiancé maybe cheating on him and also it may represent how low he stooped to find out if his being cheated on. Tracking shot is used after he rings the bell; he walks confidently and aggressively towards the camera. This is significant as in indicant that he is no longer inferior and that he has become stronger.
The ending of the film, is a sort of cliff hanger. Henry calls his best man and tells him about the change of plan for the stag night. We then see him walking away holding a cross bow. The audience are left wondering whether or not he will carry out his revenge. The audience are left many unanswered question such as Will he forgive his fiancé and still marry her? Or will he get revenge on his fiancé?
Overall the film was exciting and interesting. It maintained the audience’s attention and kept them entertained. The actor delivered his line perfectly and the audience felt that they wear being pulled in to the life of the character. The script was well planned out. The was touch of humour to the storyline, this was appealing to the audience as they felt that Henry was making fun out of what should be a serious situation for most people. The genre of this short film is comic-drama.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p007h73t - the short film: The rules of the game
