About a Girl-Basic Notes

About a Girl –Basic Analysis notes

Dir: Brian Purcieval

Date: 2001

Location: Industrial part of Manchester

Length: 9 Minutes

Background/Initial notes

·         Starts with  a silhouetted figure of a girl dancing in a long grassy field. This already gives a sense of ambiguity to the film

·         It then cuts to the girl (we presume) in a industrial looking estate, in a medium shot, in a documentary/interview style.  It almost fits the style of a celebrity interview, which maybe foreshadows the girl’s dreams or ambitions.

·         White, teenage girl, divorced parents.

·         Close group of friends-she is the leader/head of the group.

·         Working –middle class

·          She has a dream, maybe wants to get away?

·         Age is restricting her, she isn’t allowed her own way or to make a decision.

·         Age is represented; asking one thing from one parent when one has said no.

·         Dim, dull lighting-High angle shots.

·         Long tracking shots.

·         Talking about her aspirations, where she wants to go.

·         Mis En Scene-Girl’s costume: Higher/middle class, more expensive brands, however due to the how the character and the area is shown we assume she is lower/working class, so we may assume the clothes are copies.

·         Form- Walking along the river-Sharp edgy cutting when looking back on events.

·         Spacious shots-emptiness?

·         Neglect: Sitting on the bench outside the pub listening to music on her phone.

·         Use of ‘Bless’ in the girl’s dialogue in the scene, shows how she sees herself as more mature then maybe she is, but how maybe she is actually lonely due to the neglect from her father.

·         Structure: Non linear-The story goes backwards and forwards. It could be seen as a 3 act structure with flashback.

Shot by Shot analysis

·         Starting with a cut in. We witness a small part of a problematic life.

·         Set in the field, it isn’t the industrial landscape of Manchester, maybe it’s hear dream setting, an escape. However she can’t have this due to the lack of opportunities she is given.

·         Image of the silhouette- striking visual with the backdrop of the field.  

·         It’s show from a low angle- Tall, cowering. This is contradictory as she’s still a silhouette.

·         This maybe represents a lack of power.

·         Song at the beginning that the girl is dancing to; ‘Stronger’ by Britney Spears, gives a sense of irony and foreshadows the multilayered story and lifestyle of the protagonist.

·         We cut from her singing and dancing to the industrial estate. This maybe shows a cut back to reality.

·         The narrative revolves around the girl in a documentary style. Maybe some is following her journey.

·         This ties in and follows the genre of Social Realism. As it makes it more realistic for us as an audience.

·         Delivery of dialogue is slightly poetic with the use of rhyme-This starts to show her character.

·         Close up of her behind railings. Shows her being caged in/locked up.

·         Medium/Wide shot of her walking with her mum and sister shows stereotypical packed/tight area-maybe council houses. Tower/flat blocks in the background and the gas holder add to the stereotypical image.

·         When the camera is tracking the girl we see broken, dilapidated and ruined buildings. This maybe connotes the lives of the people in the narrative.

·         The use of ‘I’m not a kid, I’m 13 years old’ in the girl’s dialogue shows she is trying to prove to her dad she can look after herself.

·         In the cafe: Red chairs/Coke can give positive, warm suggestions which are very different to what’s occurring.

·         Intercut Monologue.-We continue to see the broken down landscapes during the film.

·         Quote: “Her stories become more and more underlines by an uncomfortable feeling that the gravity of her experiences does not match her flippant style”.

·         Mis En Scene: Sloppy graffiti, broken roofs, peeling paint.

·         At the football match, she’s hanging on/waiting for her dad. She wants more contact with him, to engage with him and have a relationship.

·         Shot to her on the bench.  Zoom and tilt down, looking down. Shows her vulnerability and accentuates her lifestyle/Problems.

·         It comes from a grown up scene, then into her being in a vulnerable, neglected state of mind.

·         Use of sound mixing and sound-scape help to represent her feelings and the situation going on in the scene/shot.

·         On the bus shot (s)-warm colour pallet, shows she’s happy and comfortable with her friends.

·         Their sharing the dream. It’s all they have to hang onto?

·         Use of ‘organise’, shows she’s in control of the situation-Ironic. Here she has the highest level of importance compared to her home life.

·         In the shop she’s playing around with the woman in the shop, she likes the control and the power.

·         Walking along the canal: Trolleys, rubbish, the canal is a general dumping ground, maybe e symbol of trash/disrespect.

·         Sections when the girl is with the dad, she asks her questions but never gets an answer.