Friday, 9 October 2015

Idea Development: Emotional Contrast


Within my idea, I plan to portray a strong sense of emotional contrast between characters, showing love/content and then juxtaposing that with violence or crime to make the audience feel uncomfortable. The key point is to make the audience question where their sympathies lay with the characters. 

A strong example of this is in the scene on the left from the Neo-Noir film 'Drive' (2011), directed by Nicholas Winding Refn. The initial movement from character 'Driver' played by Ryan Gosling, is one of good intention, optimism and fondness toward Irene (Carey Mulligan). As Driver kisses Irene, it shows the audience the need and desire he has for her, creating an intimate, slightly romantic setting with a simple motion. It stands as the focal point of the film, where Gosling exposes himself to the one thing he longs to protect, and inevitably becomes the last time that Irene sees his character as something to desire for. Consequently, it is the focal point also for the Driver condemning himself to never be with her for her own protection. As a still, the third man in the scene acts metaphorically as his 'past' hanging over his shoulder, and that is a serious violent threat toward Irene he cannot risk. Furthermore in terms of setting, the claustrophobic elevator acts as an idyllic private setting for the first romantic motion between Irene and Driver, however it soon turns sinister as he reveals his alternative nature, and suddenly the audience is trapped within the elevator as the scene of violence ensues.

To also further develop my idea, I plan to show the link between mental health and violence/crime. Driver doesn't consider how Irene is going to respond or feel about the situation, but if she is classed as 'sane', she would be horrified by the violent outburst. Similarly, to show his deteriorating mental state, and slight sociopathic tendencies, without barely hesitating, he goes overboard on physically assaulting the man in the lift, and kicks his head until his skull splits. 





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