Youth

Film: Youth

Director: Jane Linfoot

Year:2007

Duration: 20 minutes 

Youth is a short film, directed and written by Jane Linfoot. The film is separated into three different sections, telling three different stories of young/adolescent life. For this analysis I focus on the third section, which shows the story of three school boy’s on a bus journey home in the outskirts of London.

The film starts with a bird’s eye view shot which tilts up to show three teenage schoolboys, who look around 15-16 years old board the bus. As they enter onto the top deck they pass a middle age looking man holding a child a child in his arms. As well as indicating the three boys as the protagonists for the film, we are straight away made wary of the other passengers on the bus. Similar to the other two stories in the film, the cold, naturalistic lighting along with the slightly grainy picture quality adds a gritty atmosphere from the start of the film, also fitting with the conventions of Social Realism. After this it cuts to a wide shot of the three boys on the back of the bus, which remains the setting for the whole film. This si common for a short film, as it tells the story through a physical journey as well as a mental journey for the characters. Due to the  style of costume: The scruffy uniforms, hoodies, ear rings etc,  a stereotypical image is starting to build up and represents a familiar image of ‘chav’ or ‘youth’ culture as the film would suggest. In addition as they get to the back of the bus they shout and swear to people outside from the back window.  

From the first few shots we already establish the aggressive nature of the boy in the middle of the three. When the camera first cuts to a mid/two shot of the tow black boys we see him positioned in the foreground of the frame and lower down in the shot, however even with this angle he remains the dominant character and over powers the over boy in the conversation. This begins to represent a want for power and control within the group of boys.  As an audience, we may start to see this character, as the leader of the group.

In the next shot we see the other member of the group, in the corner of the bus leaning forward in his seat. In the shot the leader of the group also begins to ask “How does this boy do this yeah?” which starts to raise the audiences suspicions as to what he’s doing. We then see a close up of a knife in the boy’s hand, which is slightly shocking due to it seeming like a fairly normal situation until this point. The boy spins the knife around in his hand and runs his fingers up and down the blade, signifying that the knife gives him a sense of authority and adds a sense of danger to his persona. However after the boy is asked to give the knife to the other two boys by the character in the hat, the camera focuses on  him being in the corner of the bus. The tight, enclosed proxemics portray the idea of the even though he has the knife, which he may see as a symbol of power or fear, he is the most isolated and vulnerable of the three boys. This relates to the idea that people say carrying a dangerous weapon such as knife makes you seem weaker and more of a ‘Coward’ which is a topic often discussed within the media.  In the shot, after the boy refuses to hand over the knife, the leader repeatedly asks the white boy “are you Rambo?” in which the white is constantly over whelmed by the questions and made completely incapable within the shot. This question “are you Rambo?” over and again shows the theme of hierarchy and dominance, which is often within groups and gangs, which is noticeable also in other short films such as “Antonio’s Breakfast" and “Soft”.

After this, the camera cuts to a medium/two shot of the two black boys, which eventually goes silent apart from the diagetic sound of the passengers and the noise from the bus. Then a group of a girls, slightly older , dressed in beautician’s uniforms, implying that they attend beauty school or college, sit down on the top deck. Along with the diagetic sound of the previous shot, this makes us aware of the passengers on the bus and the realism of the situation, making us think back to the knife and the possible consequences and risks of this.  It then cuts to handheld shot in which the leader of the group becomes engrossed with the girls, prompting the other boy to make fun and taunt him. Eventually the white boy remarks “Nah he’s gay” resulting in the two arguing. The camera is panning side to side, in a continuous handheld shot. This builds a intensity and a growing sense of unease between the three boys, making the audience still think about what’s going to happen. This atmosphere is emphasised by the constant movement of the bus, meaning that the shot the narrative and plot is always developing. The boy with the knife is once again shown as enclosed and maybe trapped by the use of space and proxcemics. The constant diagetic sound and the repetition of “Shut, shut up” from the boy in the hat also portrays the crescendo of pressure within the scene.

The white boy is then grabbed by the boy in the hat, down into a headlock and being pushed down by the other boy. The fact of it still being a handheld shot represents the frenzy of all three boys, which is all emphasised by the changing editorial pace and the speed of cuts, and shows the struggle of the whit eboy, as he continues to be pinned down. We then see the white boy from a high angled shot, still in a cramped confined space, which makes us think back to the vulnerability of his character, adn the lack of dominance he has had since the start of the film. A phone begins to ring which means the boy is released from the headlock. It cuts to a shakey, handheld close up of the white boy, making us see his disorientated state of mind at the time. As the camera cuts between the two other boys and him, the camera follows his arms down into his bag to reveal him bringing up an inhaler, which automatically signals asthma to us as an audience. This adds to the impact of the situation and continues to add pressure and seriousness to what’s happening. In addition due to the way that the inhaler was bring up by the boy, we assume that the other two characters do not of his condition, which we presume to be asthma.

After this series of shots we see the knife again, which could be for many different reasons, and due to the significance and symbolic nature of the inhaler, starts leading the audience to think something drastic could happen, building the gravity and seriousness of the situation. The camera then cuts to a passenger near the back of the bus, looking round at the three boys, with a nervous and suspicious expression. The occasional shots of the passengers reaffirm that the film is set in a public place and reminds the audience about the realistic nature of the situation, adding to the verisimilitude. It cuts to a medium shot in which the white boy is out of focus compared to the leader, maybe representing his reluctance towards the scene and again show’s his separation from the other characters. He’s then asked by the leader of the group to use his knife against the men as he leader says “you’re Rambo, so I’ll call him down here and you do him...Rambo”.. Again the repetition of Rambo comes back to the issue of gang mentality and the idea of having to prove yourself within these sorts of groups and lifestyles. We then start to see a look of panic and nervousness enter the boys face.

After the leader of the group attempts to attract the man’s attention by shouting out “guy with the problem, don’t ignore me” he picks up a can and violently throws it at him. The man looks round with a surprised angry look towards the boys. The leader of the group and the other boy move straight towards the window, separating the characters into groups; the two boys and the boy with the knife. The two boy’s look round and starting blaming the other character for throwing the can and saying things like “psycho!”. They turn and begin to look out the window which then draws the other boy’s attention towards them. As he gets up and walks over to the two boys then turn around and pull him back down, as the camera goes back into a frenzied, handheld style, reinforced by  a quickening editorial pace. As this happens, the man stands up and gets off the bus, with the diagetic sound of the boys still being heard. From this, it cuts back to a shot of the two boys putting a plastic bag over the white boy’s head. These immediately adds fear and panic into the scene for the audience, asweel as there being dramatic irony as we know of the boys condition, whereas we can are led to believe they don’t.

The camera then pans down to show the boy bringing out the knife. At this point the frenzy and unease that has built throughout the whole film reaches it’s pinnacle. This is also due to the jolly and jokey nature of the other two boy’s contrasting with the imagery on the screen. As the man reaches the end of the bus, he looks to the back of the bus which makes the audience wonder if he has noticed the knife, making the ending of the film more ambiguous. This is finally emphasised by a focus pulled shot of the empty can rolling down the bus, with all other diagetic sound fading out.