Analysis of 3 Relevant Films/ Adaptations
1.) Polytechnique
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| Villeneuve, D. (2009) |
What Is The Film About
Polytechnique is a true event, crime, drama, and historical film, and it is the second feature film from director Denis Villeneuve and it was released back in 2009. The film is based on a horrific event, where a school shooting happened at specific and targeted French, Canadian female students and on the IMDB's website on the synopsis of the film describes the plot being 'a dramatization of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, during which several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.' This explains how personal and political the film is from the shooter himself being against women who he classes as feminists, to the victims who lost their lives back on December 6th in 1989. With the film having a weighty subject, the film was screened privately to the victim's families, and they gave their full permission and blessing to Villeneuve and the production team, for the film to be released on the big screen.
How Is This Film Relevant To My Own Adaptation
I had picked this film as the first option because the format of the film is in black and white, and also the low-key lighting the film has and making the tone really dark, moody, and depressing for the film's subject matter and of course the tone it has. The black and white presentation is how I want to present most of my film and the low key lighting examples from Polytechingue is how I want to capture my scenes and by showing a serious and unsettling atmosphere in my film as well. When I mentioned most of my film being in the format of black and white, this will take place during the first and second act of the film and my own tone being negative and depressing in moments of routines and decision making, and very much similar with the photos of the examples below. The three examples of the photos below, also support the very similar location of my own film, and which will take place in the main character's own house, and these photos from Polytechnique takes place of where the school shooter individual lives.
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| Black and white format example (Villeneuve, D. 2009) |
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| Low key lighting example 1 (Villeneuve, D. 2009) |
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| Low key lighting example 2 (Villeneuve, D. 2009) |
2.) The Lighthouse
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Eggers, R (2019)
What Is The Film About
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The Lighthouse is a psychological, horror, thriller, and even a dark comedy film. It's the second feature from writer and director Robert Eggers, and the film stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. On IMDB's website, it describes the synopsis of the film to be about 'two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity whilst living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s'. This gives the audience a concept that will not be a simple experience ahead for them and mentioning the two words sanity and mysterious, will grab the audience's attention with curiosity and predicting that the unpredictable is going to happen. From a trivia piece of information, the director Robert Eggers had an achievement to make, it was to make the audience go mad and become confused like Winslow (Ephraim Winslow), so the final script turned out to be more confusing for the audience.
How Is This Film Relevant To My Own Adaptation
Considering that I have already mentioned from the previous film about the black and white format, with The Lighthouse that is also in black white, however, the aspects and themes I have chosen focus on isolation and having an alter ego in your own film. One of the themes in The Lighthouse really does mention and focus on isolation, with the two main characters left alone and even being stranded on an island at a lighthouse, and then cabin fever escalates and escalates for these two characters. I don't want my own character heading into insanity, however, I want to use The Lighthouse example a lot more on isolation than cabin fever. For the alter ego example, from my own interpretation of experiencing and having watched The Lighthouse, I do believe Willem Dafoe's character is the alter ego to Robert Pattison's character. However, the only difference between The Lighthouse compared to my own film is the alter ego will have the exact same age and same face recognition. With The Lighthouse having a young and old physical individual.
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| Alter Ego example 1 (Eggers, R. 2019) |
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| Alter Ego example 2 (Eggers, R. 2019) |
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| Isolation example (Eggers, R. 2019) |
3.) Inception  |
| Nolan, C. (2010) |
What Is The Film About
Inception is a mystery, drama, and psychological thriller film by writer and director Christopher Nolan, and it was released back in the summer of 2010. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and a huge cast, on IMDB's website it describes the synopsis about a thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea the mind of a C.E.O. Which all sounds very technical, psychology and peculiar of not knowing what to expect and at the same time knowing what complicated, confusing and authentic concepts and themes Christopher Nolan has in mind for the audiences. The film is presented so authentic and even confidential, Nolan himself described the plot to be a contemporary science fiction action thriller and set within the architecture of the mind. Which to me sounds like the working progress of a character study of Leonardo DiCaprio's character and journey into dreams and reality.
How Is The Film Relevant To My Own Adaptation
With the two of the main themes from Inception about dreams and reality, in my own adaptation short film, there are sequences where the main character has multiples dreams and nightmares about his external conflict against the wild and unpredictable events 2020 faced with, and with his internal conflict is about his own personal fears and anxieties he is trying to fight against. Our self-conscience is a part of us that we struggle to control more than our own conscience can and I see Inception as a relevant film, to my own adaptation based on those themes and concepts that Nolan created from his authentic, visual mind. In the dreams example photo below, it shows DiCaprio's character has hit the time limit of controlling the dream he is in from his self conscious. The reality photo below, which is one of the final shots of the film, is when DiCaprio's character returns to reality and his family, the object is a representation if he's in control of his reality, however, if it stops spinning he's back inside a dream, and which is from my own interpretation from experiencing and watching the film. My overall thought of choosing Inception as the third film example is seeing how the characters in the film can control their own self-consciousness in dreams and nightmares and the consciousness in reality. To show my own character would in my short film adaptation.
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| Dreams (Nolan, C. 2010) |
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| Reality (Nolan, C. 2010) |
Bibliography
1.] Needhan, C. (2009) Polytechnique https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194238/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 (Accessed 16/12/20)
2.] Needhan, C. (2019) The Lighthouse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7984734/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv (Accessed 16/12/20)
3.] Needhan, C. (2010) Inception https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv (Accessed 16/12/20)
4.] Villeneuve, D. (2009) Anoymous, TMDB
5.] Villeneuve, D. (2009) Anoymous, Tumbral. com
6.] Villeneuve, D. (2009) Anoymous, Fandor
7.] Eggers, R. (2019) Danny Leigh, Financial Times
8.] Eggers, R. (2019) Peter Travers, Rolling Stones
9.] Eggers, R. (2019) Tasha Robinson, The Verge
10.] Nolan, C (2010) Daniel Portilla, ArchDaily
11.] Nolan, C (2010) Christopher Hootan, Independent
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