II: The films plot can be reduced in it's most simple terms to a London Gangster Drugs film, so the target audience will probably for the majority be males, the film is rated a 15 and I agree as the film in itself is quite complicated and could be hard to follow for anyone younger than 15. At first I thought that the film wouldn't appeal to an older audience because of the movies plot line and the actors. But having watched this with my parents (50 and 52) who both thoroughly enjoyed it I can say that a wide range of ages will enjoy this and interestingly enough a large part of them enjoying it was Michael Gambon appearing as Eddie Temple. Although with a lot of gangster films there is the problem of sexist language and behaviour throughout which may alienate a female audience but Layer Cake is the exception that proves the rule as it has very minimal occurrences of this type of behaviour, which means that while not specifically aimed at women they could happily watch it.
Looking at User Reviews Layer Cake's IMDB page I found that with a rating of 7.4 this film has a
largely successful following and I have picked one example of a review at random.
218 out of 259 people found the following review useful:
In short, see this film., 7 October 2004
Author: matt_cub from United Kingdom
In short, see this film., 7 October 2004
Author: matt_cub from United Kingdom
After being cast as Bond, Daniel Craig's back catalogue is now much sought after. Although Craig came to most of the UK's attention with a stand out performance in Our Friends in the North, it's Layer Cake that showcases why he got the Bond audition. Perhaps now, this strong contender for the best thriller of the year may find the audience it deserves. Mis-sold as a more art house friendly addition to the Guy Ritchie school of crime films, Layer Cake is a unique and remarkable experience.
The plot is deceivingly simple and would wrongly be placed in the gangster-wanting-to-retire-peacefully cinema staple seen frequently in Al Pacino movies. It is a much greater accomplishment that the audacious visual style, superb script and excellent performances make easy comparisons to this film pretty difficult. If anything it is closer to Schrader's 'American Gigalo' where the morally questionable hero is engulfed in a situation going on around him. The predominantly male cast is faultless with everyone from Dexter Fletcher to Michael Gambon putting in superb turns to give the characters justice. Far more human than the cartoon stereotypes we've come to expect after so very many Brit gangster flicks. Craig has never looked in better shape for taking on Hollywood.
Hats off then to Matthew Vaugn for filming Britain as it can look. Grimy in places but every bit astonishing in locations as our Stateside cousins. We've grown too used to seeing rain pouring and hackneyed clichés that have represented this country on celluloid. It's not foppish. It's not Bend It Like Beckham. So there really is no excuse left not to see it (aside from the awful trailer). Layer Cake deserves a wide audience and there's more than enough of everything for everyone to enjoy. At times hilarious, astonishingly frank and incredibly concise the whole film is a pure joy and clearly made for people that love film. Makes you wonder why they can't all be as classy as this.
The plot is deceivingly simple and would wrongly be placed in the gangster-wanting-to-retire-peacefully cinema staple seen frequently in Al Pacino movies. It is a much greater accomplishment that the audacious visual style, superb script and excellent performances make easy comparisons to this film pretty difficult. If anything it is closer to Schrader's 'American Gigalo' where the morally questionable hero is engulfed in a situation going on around him. The predominantly male cast is faultless with everyone from Dexter Fletcher to Michael Gambon putting in superb turns to give the characters justice. Far more human than the cartoon stereotypes we've come to expect after so very many Brit gangster flicks. Craig has never looked in better shape for taking on Hollywood.
Hats off then to Matthew Vaugn for filming Britain as it can look. Grimy in places but every bit astonishing in locations as our Stateside cousins. We've grown too used to seeing rain pouring and hackneyed clichés that have represented this country on celluloid. It's not foppish. It's not Bend It Like Beckham. So there really is no excuse left not to see it (aside from the awful trailer). Layer Cake deserves a wide audience and there's more than enough of everything for everyone to enjoy. At times hilarious, astonishingly frank and incredibly concise the whole film is a pure joy and clearly made for people that love film. Makes you wonder why they can't all be as classy as this.
As you can see the review very much enjoyed the film hence the 10/10 stars. He specifies that the film is NOT like every other 'gangster-want-to-retire-flick' and compares it to the quality to Al Pacino's 'Heat' starring Robert De Niro. He also highlights how he believes that this movie is the reason Daniel Craig got the chance to audition for James Bond, which is the role that really shot him into stardom.
Overall it looks like that this film was very popular with it's audiences but from what I saw in the rest of the reviews that it could be difficult for Americans to understand simply because of difficult terminology.
III) When it comes to technology the film was only released not too long ago in 2004 so technology was easy to use but still more advanced than in previous years for instace the film has its own website which contains trailers and character profiles which really opens up its audience to much more people who may not have seen the television advert, or maybe use web services such as rotten tomatoes or IMDB more to find the films they would like to watch, they were also able to read up fully on the film before watching and able to see who directed and who wrote it which is very popular. This may also be a good addition for those who were a fan of the book on which the film was based. Although the trailer which has been brought out has been given criticisms (Which in all fairness I agree with) the film has still taken full advantage of all the resources that are available to it.
IV) I am going to be analysing what I believe to be one of the most prevalent scenes in the film which is in fact the opening one and sets a basis up for how we see the main character. for instance in a lot of films the drug dealer character is one we mostly view on negatively, but Layer Cake changes this so that we take a shine to Daniel Craig. Click Here for the copy of the opening scene I am analysing.
Overall it looks like that this film was very popular with it's audiences but from what I saw in the rest of the reviews that it could be difficult for Americans to understand simply because of difficult terminology.
III) When it comes to technology the film was only released not too long ago in 2004 so technology was easy to use but still more advanced than in previous years for instace the film has its own website which contains trailers and character profiles which really opens up its audience to much more people who may not have seen the television advert, or maybe use web services such as rotten tomatoes or IMDB more to find the films they would like to watch, they were also able to read up fully on the film before watching and able to see who directed and who wrote it which is very popular. This may also be a good addition for those who were a fan of the book on which the film was based. Although the trailer which has been brought out has been given criticisms (Which in all fairness I agree with) the film has still taken full advantage of all the resources that are available to it.
IV) I am going to be analysing what I believe to be one of the most prevalent scenes in the film which is in fact the opening one and sets a basis up for how we see the main character. for instance in a lot of films the drug dealer character is one we mostly view on negatively, but Layer Cake changes this so that we take a shine to Daniel Craig. Click Here for the copy of the opening scene I am analysing.
Music: For the first 15 seconds there is no diegetic or non-diegetic sound other than Daniel Craig's voice-over. So there is a feeling of calm through the beginning of the scene. This is continued as throughout the scene a calming melody of synths is played and is kept the same throughout the opening. For instance even when some van doors are blown off. Which makes the two in stark contrast to each other therefore helping the viewer look at what's going on on-screen but also listening to the voice-over. The music starts to get louder and lyrics are heard as soon as the scene comes into the present day which highlights how Daniel Craig says "Drugs changed everything".
Colours: Throughout the majority of the opening the colours are kept as dark blacks, blues and greens. These are especially suitable for when there are prison scenes or robbery scenes of which there are in the opening. An interesting point is that the only scene where there are bright colours is the scene where people are smoking what is supposedly hash. This could be a reference to the way that drugs affect you and make you feel. The colours are in stark contrast to the darks colours which could represent the divide between the drug affected world and the 'real world'.
Editing: Most the shots area combination of tracking and panning shots that give the impression the camera is simply going around the room through all of the different locations. All of the shots themselves are at the same height although in one section it can be ad sitting level ad another at standing level. The transitions for all of the shot are quite simple and are that the camera moves past what looks like a wall and emerges on the other side in a new year or place.
V) when it comes t social groups the film itself only references to these a few times. For instance there is a murder and when a black man volunteers to take away the body the man telling the story says that "Back in those days being black was worse than being Irish". This si the only real mention of racial disharmony , especially as two of the main characters are both black and Caucasian. The only other mention of any social problems are the representations of women. There are only three female characters in the whole film and the first one played by Sienna Miller immediately proposes to have sex with Daniel Craig, and the second is simply a trophy wife/girlfriend for a low-level drugs dealer. and the last is the daughter of a very wealthy high end kingpin drug dealer, but she is addicted to crack cocaine and also living in a crack house. Females are definitely shown as the less dominant of the genders as the cast is largely male in comparison to many other films, but not when it comes to this genre of films (London Gangster).
Colours: Throughout the majority of the opening the colours are kept as dark blacks, blues and greens. These are especially suitable for when there are prison scenes or robbery scenes of which there are in the opening. An interesting point is that the only scene where there are bright colours is the scene where people are smoking what is supposedly hash. This could be a reference to the way that drugs affect you and make you feel. The colours are in stark contrast to the darks colours which could represent the divide between the drug affected world and the 'real world'.
Editing: Most the shots area combination of tracking and panning shots that give the impression the camera is simply going around the room through all of the different locations. All of the shots themselves are at the same height although in one section it can be ad sitting level ad another at standing level. The transitions for all of the shot are quite simple and are that the camera moves past what looks like a wall and emerges on the other side in a new year or place.
V) when it comes t social groups the film itself only references to these a few times. For instance there is a murder and when a black man volunteers to take away the body the man telling the story says that "Back in those days being black was worse than being Irish". This si the only real mention of racial disharmony , especially as two of the main characters are both black and Caucasian. The only other mention of any social problems are the representations of women. There are only three female characters in the whole film and the first one played by Sienna Miller immediately proposes to have sex with Daniel Craig, and the second is simply a trophy wife/girlfriend for a low-level drugs dealer. and the last is the daughter of a very wealthy high end kingpin drug dealer, but she is addicted to crack cocaine and also living in a crack house. Females are definitely shown as the less dominant of the genders as the cast is largely male in comparison to many other films, but not when it comes to this genre of films (London Gangster).
Good work, Ed.
ReplyDeleteIn particular, well done for not over-simplifying the audience and providing evidence for why a female audience might feel alienated.
Ensure you find reviews that are favourable and less so...
"lthough the trailer which has been brought out has been given criticisms (Which in all fairness I agree with) the film has still taken full advantage of all the resources that are available to it. " - what are the criticisms and what do you agree with?
" The colours are in stark contrast to the darks colours which could represent the divide between the drug affected world and the 'real world'." - do you think this is the film stating that the only way the characters can have bright happy lives and escape the dullness of reality is to consume narcotics?
For you analysis (and your second case study), I recommend you spend longer analysing scenes and use the thriller genre hand out to help you identify and comment on conventions. Ensure you comment on how the narrative is similar or different to what you expect from a thriller.