The Survivalist: "It ain't easy...dying" The Survivalist is a 2015 Irish Independent Post-Apocalyptic film directed by Stephen Fingleton. The film is made by The Fyzz Facility and distributed by Bulldog Film Distribution and shot in Northern Ireland. Online resources suggest that the film had a budget of £1 million, which is very modest for an independent film. The film follows the character known as ‘The Survivalist’, who lives a very isolated life in the apocalyptic world, when suddenly two strange women appear. A following of events occur, when groups of raiders force ‘The Survivalist’ and the women to leave, threatening his once accustomed way of living. My task with this analysis is to figure out what makes this film independent, through it’s setting, story and characters. One thing to be noted about with The Survivalist is in fact it’s setting; it’s set in a rough, rural landscape. I believe the setting played a huge part in the making of the film as Northern Ireland is filled with many forests and rural locations, and a post-apocalyptic film would almost certainly fit in with the location. Even in terms of the actors and actresses; they are all from Ireland and the rest of the UK which adds a layer of authenticity as to where the film is set. Traditionally, Indie films tends to hire local actors and actresses, and The Survivalist is no different, by casting actor ‘Martin McCann’ (Graham and Boogaloo, Calibre, ’71) who helms from Belfast as the main titular character. The overall tone and vibe from the film is something that I note that mainstream cinema often neglects. Sure, it might be a dark film and at times quite depressing, but the way that is played by the characters development fits well. The use of minimal dialogue is also something that stood out to me, where can go scenes and segments without any real dialogue spoken, with the main character almost being mute-like in essence. This reaffirms this dark idea of isolation in a post-apocalyptic world, and I believe this is something ‘Stephen Fingleton’ wanted to experiment in this film, which works out very well. Another thing I picked up from The Survivalist is it’s pacing; it is very slow in many instances, with some scenes lingering on for a little longer, just to show the audience what this world is really like. I felt the pacing was like another film I analysed; Bad Day for the Cut, but The Survivalist almost makes the pacing of the former film seem quicker. The pacing of The Survivalist in some senses is quite slow, and lifelike; we see our main character spend an abundance of time out in his garden, burying bodies, and making food. What helps to cut up the pacing in these instances is the use of the jump cut, where we go from one time of day to the next. What I found to be very impressive from The Survivalist, despite it being a low budget indie film was its cinematography, which was shot by Northern Irish cinematographer ‘Damien Elliot’. What I liked about the way it was shot, was unlike many mainstream films, The Survivalist had a very realist tone to the camerawork, almost documentary-eqsue in some instances. The use of handheld camera, along with long takes adds to the films serious tone and works well along with the pacing as beforementioned. I feel like The Survivalist is a gritty and dark film with some interesting ideas and concepts proposed, but an enjoyable watch nonetheless. Sure, it’s pacing may at times be long and inconsistent for some audience members, and the lack of spoken dialogue also is something to take note of, but I feel like what the director has managed to achieve with this film is great, and it’s execution is tremendous.
1 Comment
New Waterford Girl: "Hit or miss?" New Waterford Girl is a 1999 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle. The film is about a young awkward girl called Moonie, who is a big dreamer and aspires to move out of her small town when suddenly a family from New York City moves in next door. The film is shot and set in rural Canada and distributed by Odeon Films. My goal with this analysis is to explore what makes this film independent, and if such a film could be made in Northern Ireland, what would I change? The film’s story is that what we have seen in many films before; where the main character is stuck in a dead end town and wants to leave, and has aspirations of bigger dreams, before meeting a new character and facing a total change of personality and drive (Example: Footloose) This type of story isn’t unique, but New Waterford Girl attempts to put a twist to this type of storytelling. What we in New Waterford Girl (present in many indie comedy films such as Napoleon Dynamite and Sideways) is the development of characters. Although not hugely unique to indie comedies but prevalent, is where the main characters are often quite bland, and boring, especially in a sense of their drive and achievement, and New Waterford Girl’s protagonist, Moonie, fits this mold. What the director added to the character was a sense of quirkiness, almost the ability for the audience to grow to like the character as the plot progresses. Moonie’s progression throughout the film after meeting new neighbour Lou shows, in the sense that her confidence rises, and she goes against the status quo that is put in place for her. I think the setting of this film is also something seen in many indie films; it is set in a rural, run-down looking area, that has an old vintage feel to it. On my last blog, I reviewed Bad Day for the Cut, and, even though both are set in different countries, the atmosphere and setting of the environment are very similar. My theory for why indie films is set in rural areas is that there is an endless possibility of stories to be told, as well as the history that goes along with such places. Budgetary reasons are also another factor, as shooting in cities and big towns adds cost to hiring buildings, however in my research for the New Waterford Girl, I could not find the exact budget allocated to the film. A question poised about New Waterford Girl is if such a film can be made in Northern Ireland, and if so, what changes would or wouldn’t be made to it. I believe this film could have been made in Northern Ireland, and the big reason for this is the setting; it’s rural. In the film, it is set in a small, Canadian town, that looks very rough and has a vintage look to it. This type of setting is present hugely throughout Northern Ireland, so the setting issue is not a challenge. In terms of the acting representation and if the same quality can be achieved, I believe so. New Waterford Girl serves as the debut of many actors and actresses, and in Northern Ireland many up and coming actors would take advantage of this and showcase their potential. What would I keep? First, I would keep the main story theme; where Moonie’s character dreams big and wants to leave. Again, a simple story but one that can have an impact and stay with the audience if executed in a certain fashion. A change I would make to this film would be the addition of more dry humour, albeit, almost have the acting ‘drier’ like Peter Sellars acting in films such as Dr Strangelove and the Pink Panther series. I feel this would fit well with the character of Moonie, as she is, for the first two acts, mostly dry and quite honestly boring, and adding more humour to her acting would have fit the tone of the film better and make her stand out even more from the other supporting characters. To summarise, New Waterford Girl is one of those films that is marmite; you either like it or not. Many audience members may find it hard to connect with the main protagonist Moonie, be it through the characters arrogance, or in my opinion in what I would add to the character, a lack of comedic spark to her. However, in saying that, the films ‘quirky’ tone and ‘indie’ feel definitely is a draw for audience members into that sort of type of film. Bad Day for the Cut: "It ain't much, but it's honest work" Bad Day for the Cut is a 2017 Irish Thriller film directed by Chris Baugh. The film is made by Six Mile Productions, with external financing from Northern Ireland Screen. The premise of the film is quite a cookie cutter scenario: a man’s loving mother is murdered, and he goes off on a path to seek revenge. My task with this analysis, is to see what makes Bad Day, an independent film. There are many instances for what makes a film independent, one being that a film is somewhat produced outside of Hollywood/Major Studio System, or is privately financed by investors (For instance, George Lucas with Red Tails). This film takes the former, having been produced by a smaller in-house company “Six Mile”, whilst being given additional funding by N.I Screen. The thing with many indie films is that the stories they tell or what the director wants to showcase are never really shown in mainstream Hollywood, be it due to the severity or tone of the story, and the additional funding by another organisation (in this case N.I Screen) is given because the organisation saw some promise in the story that Chris Baugh wanted to tell, and it shows. Like the last point touched upon, it’s the films story and tone. Although many dark and grim films are made in the Hollywood/Main Stream System, not many would want to place a film set in Northern Ireland with such grimace to it. The films story is quite cookie cutter as beforementioned, however it has a somewhat style to it being that in its very dry humour. The film doesn’t offer much of it, but when it does (albeit the final few minutes) it suits the films atmosphere perfectly, as the film itself is quite a slow, somewhat dragging piece at times, with some scenes lingering on for much longer than they should. I feel that this is something that the director wanted to play with, as it is quite unconventional form of scene progression in films, especially in major feature length films, so praise is needed here for Bad Day. What also stands out about this film for independent, is its authenticity and setting. Many films try to replicate a setting, be it filming in a location like the one is set in or replicating it in the form of a set. In Bad Day, the film is set in Northern Ireland, and is shot in Northern Ireland. Not only is the locations similar to what we see in our day to day lives living here; the pubs, the farms, the vast countryside, but also the actors themselves stem from Ireland, which is great when it comes to boosting the economy of Irish film. Another tendency for indie films is that normally the actors are very obscure or not well known, and that is the case here. Many of these actors and actresses have appeared in few works, which contributes this to the film being indie. A few reasons as for why the cast may be obscure is for budgetary reasons, or, the director intentionally sought out obscure talent so that it would not draw too much attention away from the final film product. Overall, I feel that Bad Day for the Cut displays many components on what makes a film independent, and not just the obvious of it being filmed on a low budget. From it’s acting, to setting, to story and tone, Bad Day is quite refreshing film for Irish cinema, even though it’s another Irish thriller, it is set in the modern times and does well to play upon the genre. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2019
Categories |