1. Essex Boys Case Study How do aspects establish the
genre?
2. Essex boys was directed by Terry Winsor. The Genre is a
Crime Thriller. It was released on 14 July 2000 The genre of this
film is a thriller (crime thriller to be specific). The theme
consists of revenge and daily lives of criminals in Essex, London.
To help identify the generic aspects Ill look at how the lighting,
costume, location, storyline and techniques make the film a
thriller.
3. The film is based around events in December 1995 that
culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon,
Essex, UK. On 6th December Patrick Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony
Tucker, three drug dealers (well known to the police) were lured to
Workhouse Lane, Rettendon. There they were blasted to death with a
shot gun while sitting in their Range Rover. They had been lured to
their deaths on the pretext of a lucrative drugs deal. The three
bodies were found the following morning, 7 December 1995. The start
of the film is about a young taxi driver (Billy) being offered the
job to help a small time hard man Jamie (Sean) get revenge. This
storyline automatically gives a sense of crime and punishment with
shady jobs being done which is perfect for a thriller type
film.
4. Costumes and Characters A character named Jason is wearing a
bright yellow shirt and symbolises his confidence and comfort when
doing his job. He stands out straight away because everyone else in
the scene is wearing black and white clothing and he is wearing a
bright yellow shirt importance over the others as he is the
character standing out from the crowd. Billys costumes are mostly
in black which makes him look normal and casual. This may show that
he is weary about being caught so tries to stay as normal as
possible for his job and also looks very smart. He seems shy
compared to Jason because he wears black to fade in, while Jason
wears bright clothes to be the centre of attention which shows
confidence. These characters profiles show the types of
characteristics people play in thrillers and they can be confident
and up for the job but they can also be nervous with the fear of
knowing they are in a dangerous job.
5. Location In the opening of the film, there are a lot of
cobwebs over the car and around the garage. This may suggest that
he is in an awkward and scary situation because cobwebs portray
spiders which signify spooky situations. The garage creates
claustrophobia and that billy is trapped and cannot get out of this
job. There is a long tunnel which Billy drives through with Jason
and this would giving the impression of the driver not being able
to turn back and has to get through the tunnel there's and nowhere
else to go. A muddy coast line is used to get rid of the suspects
body. He is covered in mud and beaten up with acid thrown over his
face and they leave him and drive away, leaving him isolated in the
mucky sand which looks like a desert which goes on for miles and
miles The location shows aspects of a thriller but the senses of
isolation and claustrophobia and the destination aren't the normal
locations in other genres but mystery, tension and suspense is
simply shown from the garage, tunnel and coastline at the beginning
of Essex Boys establishing the atmosphere and types of scene.
6. Lighting The garage at the beginning is dark inside as
there's little non ambient lighting. This lighting shows a sense of
danger and mystery which can make audiences think something bad
will happen. This is important that the lighting shows this because
they are about to commit a crime. It builds up the scene and
atmosphere. There is lots of non ambient lighting to show that dim
lighting is needed as it's night time so it's needed. It also so
undercover work and interrogation. Another effective piece of
lighting used is when Jamie is standing in front of the car seen
through the wind screen by Billy. The light on the character's
position shows that the light is shining upon Jamie to show his
importance or power over Billy. Thrillers normally have some
characters stronger than others with feelings of fear and dominance
which is portrayed here. Chiaroscuro lighting (light on dark) is
also used which suggests mystery, nightmare, suspense and
isolation. This is a key feature in noir thrillers because the
darkness on the light establishes the noir of the film.
7. Used Techniques: Billy is in the car and sees Jason staring
at him from the outside. The windscreen is the only thing
separating them. This technique of separation is used to make Jason
look like a psychopath because he is just staring at him with no
emotions being shown. Even though they're together, no one can be
trusted in this shady business. The second part time this happens
is when they are in the fishery and Jason is beating up someone
called Chippy, and Billy is watching it as if he has nothing to do
with it. He looks like he doesn't want to interfere because Jason
is a strong character and he doesn't want to get in his way. He is
the backing man in the attack. The car window is lowered by Jason
as he stares with no emotion to what seems to be no mans land. This
is a very effective shot because his character is being revealed
from the initial window separating him from the outside. The
techniques of the separation from glass sends of the aspects of a
thriller genre through mystery and the facial expressions from the
characters behind the glass. Either looking nervous or having a
poker face with no emotion being shown.