IMPROVED Review

Faces were pulled when production group JAI announced they were releasing a film with them theme of social realism. Ken Loach successfully produced ‘Catchy Come Home’ with a similar aspect of homelessness but will JAI be able to compare? Their latest, The Magazine, even manages to evoke a sense of extreme desperation through – the grass and debris of Burgess Hill. JAI doesn’t just film actors speaking lines, or chose to develop stories in conventional ways. They are about perspectives, about where to place the camera in order to heighten, explore and complicate the viewing experience.

Louise Martin Gaff takes on the role of Louise, a character which pushes all of her acting qualities and after her role in Cabaret- The Film, big things are expected from her which she succeeds to do so in ‘The Magazine’. She manages to represent all 3 different notions of class in one film. It’s not only her kindness to strangers or how she is oblivious to her surroundings its her ability to transform herself into 3 different people. The 3 different personalities don’t quite match DiCaprio’s feature in Shutter Island but creates the sensitive person every audience member will fall in love with. It sadly foreshadows her downfall, which makes it even more tragic at the ending.

The film doesn’t start off so promisingly. There are long pauses and sloppy acting which does not begin to set the audience up for anything special but as the film moves along, the pace starts to builds up and it gets better.  Combining the genres of thriller and social realism always creates an interesting film as it’s like a mix between Psycho and Fishtank with the use of kidnapping and guns to the theme of homelessness. Combining the two with the aspect of flash backs really make it work. It contrasts Jason Eisener’s work by toning down the violence whilst creating an atmosphere even more chilling due to using a younger actor which sets the message of social realism that it can happen to anybody.

JAI’s use of plot twists confuses, captivates and controls the audience’s minds by making the whole film become either an illusion or a dream due to the way it is interpreted by the audience and the way they craft their shots transforming it into a mystery. The dramatic ending is unexpected due to its mediocre pace and its worry for the ending to be too predictable but they managed to turn around all expectations and save the film.

Overall JAI delivers a good film; their plot fulfils the purpose of shocking and making the audience think about how easy it is to get homelessness so praise must be given for raising awareness of homelessness but there will always be a better film or way to raise awareness about this topic.

Evaluating a review

  I evaluated 'Take This Waltz' a film directed by Sarah Polley.

Research on Little White Lies

Little White Lies Research

Little White Lies is a bi-monthly print magazine committed to promote great movies and the talented people who make them and was established in 2005. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, Little White Lies has been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement".The magazine has since become renowned for its independent ethos and iconic covers.

The target audience for Little White Lies is slightly older readers who are really interested in the context and content of the specific film. This relates to my short film target audience as we are targeting older readers too because we think the social realism message will target older readers as it is gripping and meaningful..


Little White Lies is published six times in 14 months, and then distributed around the country by environmentally friendly carrier pigeons. You can now subscribe today for £29 and recieve this magazine. You can also read up on the interent (their website) or download the app. It has a variety of topics, it can range from reviews of films to interviews with Liam Gallagher.

Layout

  

From researching Little White Lies magazine I have identified that they present their images towards the top of the page, therefore leaving the bottom half of the page for the text. Little White Lies also use images that suit the genre and text presented. For example, in their review of the film Lawless, Little white lies used dark images in order for the review to suit the films genre which is crime fiction. In order for the picture to represent the genre they used dark colours such as presenting the picture in black and white which shows the films seriousness and how it is vintage. The images used relate to what the text is explaining in order for the reader to be able to visualize what is being said. 

In order for my film review to match the style of Little White Lies I will use these conventions in my film review. I can use a dark picture presented in black and white to show the seriousness within my film and to portray its sincerity and genre and I will use an image that would allow the reader to visualise the characters within the film.

Language and mode of address style

The typical conventions of the text in a Little White Lies magazine is that the writer tends to use puns and remarks in order to create some humour for the audience. There is also an indepth explanation of the film and also the films strengths and weaknesses.  Also in the information presented the writer describes the previous successes of the actors/director. The writer also uses quotes from the actors/director or from the film itself in a very creative way in order to get their point across. Although the writer is typically very judgmental of the film the writer do not lack in providing the reader with a thorough review that will answer all questions they have about the film.