How to Analyse a Film

When analysing film there are two methods that can be used; genre theory and auteur theory. Most analysts group films into genres such as comedy, horror and action and then look at the codes and conventions of this style of film. The codes and conventions are different for each genre for example a teen comedy would usually be set in a high school and include parties and themes of growing up whereas a horror would often be set in an haunted house and include props such as knives. Some movies do not follow codes and conventions and are usually directed by an auteur director; this means their productions are less conventional and he challenges accepted genre conventions. By breaking conventions the films often attract a cult audience instead of the wider audience that conventional films attract.

The films that I am going to compare are Quantum of Solace and Leon. Leon is directed by Luc Besson who is an auteur director, unlike the film Quantum of Solace which is directed by Marc Foster. There are some clear differences in themes between the two films including product

placement, in The Quantum of Solace you see lots of branding such as Aston Martin and Audi cars as well as Omega watches and Sony Vaio laptops. It is rare to see product placement in auteur movies as the brand could be damaged, for example if Napoleon Dynamite was to drive an Aston Martin in the film the brand would be recognized for this

but not from the intended audience of the brand. Conventional crime/action films portray the protagonist to be smartly dressed and smooth talking as you see in Quantum of Solace, Leon however is not like this as an auteur director doesn’t follow conventions. In the James Bond saga he has a signature drink; vodka martini, shaken not stirred whereas Leon chooses to drink milk throughout the film. Another distinct difference is the setting; Leon is set in a lower class part of New York, mostly in small apartments or rooms whereas Quantum of Solace has much more interesting settings. James Bond films are often filmed in luxurious locations like Sienna, Italy or huge casinos which is why the protagonist dresses smart and drives expensive cars to further appeal visually to the audience. Unlike James Bond, Leon does not wear smart clothes or drive nice cars, he wears the same clothes throughout the film as well as an old looking beanie hat and circular sunglasses which are iconic to the film. At no point in the film do we see Leon driving a car; he walks everywhere which suggests he doesn’t travel much. The representation of females is very different in these films, Quantum of Solace and most other conventional films from this genre use beautiful women that get close to the main protagonist and often fall in love with him or die trying to help him, again this is visually appealing for the audience. In Leon the only female representation is a young girl; Mathilda, which is very uncommon, throughout the film we learn that Mathilda is in love with Leon which is conventional of this genre of films but the age of the girl gives a strange mood and creates an on-going wonder for the audience about what will happen between them

Another crime film by an auteur director is Pulp Fiction. This is directed by the most famous auteur; Quentin Tarantino who also directed films such as Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Django Unchained which are all very unconventional movies. There are many differences between a typical crime movie and Pulp Fiction; firstly the language used is somewhat offensive and unexpected. Tarantino uses lots of derogatory terms in his films, this type of language would not appeal to everyone which is why the movie has gained a cult following.

The character representation in this movie is the main difference between an ordinary film and Tarantino’s auteur approach to a crime thriller. Although the 2 main characters; Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta who play hired hit men are extremely popular and recognizable by all audiences. Unlike a conventional crime movie that focuses on the protagonist for the majority of the film whilst only showing the antagonist a few times Tarantino switches this and builds a background for the pair allowing the audience to connect with them. The characters are developed throughout the film showing their personal lives as well as typical hit man antics which makes the audience more interested, at some points in the film the characters could even be considered as the protagonists. For example when Jules Winfield (Samuel L Jackson) talks an armed robber out of hurting people whilst trying to rob a diner, this is unexpected from a hit man as you would expect him to say nothing or kill the robber himself. In my opinion scenes like these are what make auteur movies more interesting than convention movies as you never know what to expect. Usually in a crime movie the audience are hoping that the protagonist will win the war but in this movie the antagonists are the audience favourite; this is due to the jokes they tell and the insight into their lives almost making them seem like the protagonists which defies Vladimir Propp’s character theory.

Tarantino is considered one of the greatest auteur directors of all time due to the non-linear narrative. His films do not have a defined beginning, middle or end; the films switch from different perspectives which means that the same is shown multiple times from different peoples point of view, because of this a character could be killed and then reappear in the next scene which is very confusing to the viewer if it is their first time watching the movie. Pulp fiction begins and ends in the same diner at the same time with a very famous scene, it is only then when the movie ends that the viewer can piece the film together.