The Selfish Giant is a 91 minute, social-realism, crime
drama directed and written by Clio Barnard and produced by Tracy O’Riordan. It
was produced on the 25th October, 2013 in the UK. The ten minute
extract of the opening scene stars Conner Chapman (Arbor), Shaun Thomas (Swifty-
Arbor’s best friend), Sean Gilder (Kitten- the scrap dealer the two boys meet),
Rebecca Manley (Michelle ‘Shelly’ Fenton- Arbor’s Mother) and Elliott Tittensor
(Martin Fenton- Arbor’s older brother).
The extract is about two thirteen year old friends named
Arbor and Swifty who, on one late night, discover a scrap dealer named Kitten
after stealing a cable of wire from two men on a train track. The extract
mainly focuses on the relationship between Arbor and Swifty and also the
relationship between Arbor and his Mother and older brother, Martin meaning the
audience is able to gain an understanding of his home life as well as his
personality. The themes of: family, friendship, hate, conflict, anger, dependence,
class and crime are expressed within this extract. The theme of family is displayed
because the audience are able to discover more about the argumentative
relationship Arbor has with his Mother and Martin and it is clear that they do
not get on very well, possibly because the Mother is struggling to raise them
both in a working class environment. Friendship is shown between Arbor and
Swifty and Swifty has the ability to easily calm Arbor down when he is having
one of his rages which shows that he must have known him for quite a long time
as Arbor will generally follow what he tells him, emphasizing the trust between
them. In a way, Arbor is dependent on Swifty in order to keep him under control
however; he is also greatly dependent on his tablets that help to prevent his
outbursts. The audience realise that he has to take tablets when the Mother
asks him “have you taken your tablet?” during an argument in which Arbor is
becoming extremely angry, this also suggests that he has serious anger problems
and possibly ADHD. Crime is a major theme because Arbor and Swifty have to live
in an environment that is surrounded by crimes such as scrap dealing and they
cannot help but find themselves intertwined with this crime in order to provide
much-needed money for the family.
The Mise-En-Scene within this extract was very effective and
it gave the audience a clear idea on the environment Arbor had to live in. The
scene set in the kitchen showed a room which was extremely cramped and of a low value,
without fancy and modern-looking utensils and with only the basics such as a
washing machine and a kettle. This emphasizes the fact that they are working
class because it shows their poor living conditions and quality of life. Arbor
and Swifty were shown riding on a horse during the night-time which shows that
they lead an un-ordinary and dangerous lifestyle because it is not something
you are likely to see and it also shows that they have both clearly had a poor
up-bringing and do not like spending time at home which is the reason they go
out at night. They are seen wearing clothing such as tracksuits that are not of
a very high quality which shows how the family do not earn very much money so
cannot afford to wear expensive clothing.
There is one particular scene that stood out for me during
this extract and it is the scene in which Arbor presents his Mother with the
money he earned from the cable wire. When Arbor shows his Mother the money, she
seems quite angry and asks him where he got it from to which he responds: “I
worked me ass of yeah, for this, for you yeah”. This results in a loud,
disruptive argument between the two of them which is an argument that is very
likely to occur between a husband and wife. This implies that Arbor is taking
on the role of the Father which suggests that Michelle is a single Mother who
may well have had a very bad relationship with the Father of Arbor.
The opening scene made very good use of cinematography and
sound and it shows Arbor having a rage as Swifty is attempting to calm him
down. The audience can hear loud, thumping noises and the sound of shouting
which expresses emotions such as anger and frustration therefore meaning that
tension is created because the audience do not know why he is so angry so it is
a very dramatic way to begin the film. Dark lighting is also used to create
mystery and to show that something has gone wrong because the cause of Arbor’s
outburst is unknown. During this scene, a close up is used to show Arbor and
Swifty’s hands interlocked and this shot is used to represent their friendship
and their extremely close bond that they share with one another. Another
example of when sound is used effectively is throughout the film when Arbor is
constantly swearing which is not appropriate for someone of his age. He has
clearly been influenced by those around him, especially his older brother who
is often seen swearing and it shows that your language and behaviour is usually
affected by those you spend a lot of time with and those who are supposed to be
your role models and within this extract, Martin is one of the only ‘role-models’
that Arbor has. The dark lighting during the train-track scene was used to show
that the men there, who originally had the cable of wire, were being very
secretive as they were committing a crime and therefore they did not want to be
noticed by anyone. When Arbor and Swifty discover Kitten, a low angle shot is
used to show Swifty on the horse which shows how he feels more in control when
on one and therefore he is displaying superiority because he is ‘looking down’
on everyone else as they look up at him.
Overall, I really enjoyed this short extract because without
even watching the film, I was able to gain an understanding of the characters,
especially Arbor, and the environment they are forced to live in. It was a very
strong opening scene with clear themes, brilliant Mise-En-Scene and effective
cinematography which has made me want to watch the film as I feel very ‘drawn
in’ by this extract.
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