Set Research Film No. 1: Slap
Slap, dir. Nick Rowland, 2015
It seemed appropriate to begin the rundown of short films that we have been given with the one that left the greatest impression on me, personally; the BAFTA nominated Slap, in its brutal tone and presentation, left me reeling. At 25 minutes in length, it holds no bars in the story of a young boxer at odds with a society that shuns his form of self-expression.
With the tonal and dramatic influence of Billy Elliot in a brutally short format, Slap pulls no punches; from the blood-pumping fast-cutting scenes of cathartic boxing to beautifully stripped scenes of our protagonist's escape through make-up (hence the title) and women's clothing, the intention is a piece of high emotion. Slap holds a mirror up to the hypocrisies of society when it comes to an evidently fragile definition of masculinity; our protagonist so disallowed to define his identity beyond a preconception.
As for micro-elements, apart from the outstandingly paced editing mentioned beforehand, standout is the subtlety of suggestive mise-en-scene and a great variety in cinematography; in erratic and reflective fashion, both excelled in the short format whilst feeling in no way rushed or compromised for the limited time-frame. Perhaps slightly lacking was another layer of depth in performance from the secondary characters at hand, reduced to cut-out shells as compared to the integrity of writing in the protagonist, but this is minor given a clear emphasis upon the single boy's struggles.
Worth noting is a common complaint amongst my peers in the immediate feedback of viewing, that of the predictability of the narrative. Whilst I agree to the extent that I knew that it wasn't going to end well for our protagonist, I rather saw this as purposeful and highly effective in aiding the film's philosophy; here predictability (alongside the assumed familiarity with such texts as Billy Elliot) is utilised tactfully in a foreboding and reflective sense, not born out of laziness from the creative team, but from a desire to make the hypocritical portrayal of the society that disallows our protagonist even more oppressive and inevitable.
As for the relevance to my own endeavours, if I'm able to capture even a slice of the raw emotion so displayed here then I'll be quite content; the juxtaposition of extremes in terms of camerawork and editing is proven here to be extremely effective, even in such a tiny frame as the five minutes that I have. Thematically also, Slap proves the place for stories with both narrative rigidity and abstract, emotional pertinence, quite aptly treading that delicate line.
It seemed appropriate to begin the rundown of short films that we have been given with the one that left the greatest impression on me, personally; the BAFTA nominated Slap, in its brutal tone and presentation, left me reeling. At 25 minutes in length, it holds no bars in the story of a young boxer at odds with a society that shuns his form of self-expression.
With the tonal and dramatic influence of Billy Elliot in a brutally short format, Slap pulls no punches; from the blood-pumping fast-cutting scenes of cathartic boxing to beautifully stripped scenes of our protagonist's escape through make-up (hence the title) and women's clothing, the intention is a piece of high emotion. Slap holds a mirror up to the hypocrisies of society when it comes to an evidently fragile definition of masculinity; our protagonist so disallowed to define his identity beyond a preconception.
As for micro-elements, apart from the outstandingly paced editing mentioned beforehand, standout is the subtlety of suggestive mise-en-scene and a great variety in cinematography; in erratic and reflective fashion, both excelled in the short format whilst feeling in no way rushed or compromised for the limited time-frame. Perhaps slightly lacking was another layer of depth in performance from the secondary characters at hand, reduced to cut-out shells as compared to the integrity of writing in the protagonist, but this is minor given a clear emphasis upon the single boy's struggles.
Worth noting is a common complaint amongst my peers in the immediate feedback of viewing, that of the predictability of the narrative. Whilst I agree to the extent that I knew that it wasn't going to end well for our protagonist, I rather saw this as purposeful and highly effective in aiding the film's philosophy; here predictability (alongside the assumed familiarity with such texts as Billy Elliot) is utilised tactfully in a foreboding and reflective sense, not born out of laziness from the creative team, but from a desire to make the hypocritical portrayal of the society that disallows our protagonist even more oppressive and inevitable.
As for the relevance to my own endeavours, if I'm able to capture even a slice of the raw emotion so displayed here then I'll be quite content; the juxtaposition of extremes in terms of camerawork and editing is proven here to be extremely effective, even in such a tiny frame as the five minutes that I have. Thematically also, Slap proves the place for stories with both narrative rigidity and abstract, emotional pertinence, quite aptly treading that delicate line.
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