I thought that this was a really great film. At the beginning I was a little against the excessive handycam style but in the end it really helped move this story along and put you more into the charters lives. The kids did an amazing job acting and conveying just how it would be if someone were living in that situation. Right from the beginning we jump into the lives of these characters and at first I didn't think that the mother was really their mother because of how irresponsible she was and I couldn't imagine any mother treating her kids that way. I like how in the bio it talks about how the director set it up that in the beginning when we first meet him we automatically dislike him because we think he's just trying to hook up with her but in the end we see the other side of him when he buys them all food and doesn't just leave them behind. I like the film because it shows that some people actually live this way and it tells the story in a way that doesn't feel like you are sitting through a long film.
Gwen Gardiner: I can definitely see why this film is very popular, even though I myself did not really enjoy it. The story features very strong, convincing characters in a striking setting that creates a very strong mood throughout the whole film. This mood however, is not one I particularly care for. I didn’t really like the main character at all, even though she is portrayed somewhat realistically. I suppose I was too curious about her background, something the story skipped right over to focus more on that particular day. Overall camera work and sound was very good. I especially liked the moments when the camera had a wide-angle shot on the family and all you could hear was them walking. It seemed to me that those shots really set the tone for the upcoming scene. The ending of the film however, seemed to me as though it resolved nothing. But I guess that’s pretty realistic as well. You can’t solve life’s problem in one day.
Andy Barksdale: This is a really hard film to "enjoy", but I thought that it was very well made and emotionally involving. From the second the film starts, it throws us into the world that the mother and her children live in. It's very gritty and dirty looking, much like the world this family lives in, and the handheld camera and use of numerous close-ups really help to pull us into what's going on and feel like we're a part of this world too. There was also an underlying feeling of tension throughout the entire movie, like it was all leading to something bad, and I liked the way it built that tension through its style and story. It does get to a point in which the mother is pretty unlikeable, especially when she is yelling at her children for not looking after each other properly while she's off with David, but I also thought she was sympathetic in the way that she was trying as hard as she could to care for the children while also trying to hold onto some part of a social life. It's clearly not an easy life that she and these children are living, and overall I really appreciated the way that this film gave us a slice of their lives in what seemed like an extremely authentic way.
Kristine Barclay: I liked the way the chose to film this, it was as shaky and unstable as that family's life. I didn't like the moms out burst because I didn't see it fitting in, like the out burst wasn't warranted. The kids were amazing little actors, that role must have been a stressful role for young girls to play. But the playful way of the family was very cute, clearly the mom is not the best mom. It was a nice short with a different plot and I enjoyed it.
Josh Berry: For starters, this film was very realistic. At first, I felt kind of indifferent about the use of the camera in the very beginning. The excessive shakiness of the camera was a bit much for me, but I do feel that it added a bit of realism to the film. The more that I think about it, I don't think the scene would've been executed correctly if the camera had been still. Throughout the entire clip, I tried not to focus so much on the story-line, but instead, the use of the camera. I saw various use of shots that were discussed in class. After a while, I had almost completely forgotten that I was supposed to be paying attention to the actual plot of the film as well. For that reason, I went back and watched it over again. The characters acted their parts out very well. Once again, they added to the realistic feel that was conveyed in the film. The plot was pretty good, but I would've liked to have seen a little more of the "everyday" life of the characters. Other than that, the film was good. If I had to rate it on a scale of one to ten, I'd give it about an eight.
I mildly enjoyed this but I've seen other movies do this kind of thing before, and much better at that. Technically, it's a mixed bag quality-wise. There are some really affecting shots. The one that sticks with me most was when she lets the wasp out of her kitchen. There were also many great, expressive extreme close-up shots. However, I wasn't altogether sold on the hand-held camera. While it did lend a sense of gritty realism, there were a few moments where I had to look away before the onset of nausea. The story is good if not a little manipulative. I know we're supposed to sympathize with the mother, but in the end I don't think her situation completely justified her absolutely trashy decisions. I get that desperate situations drive people to doing stupid things, but seriously, this perfect, charitable chav knew that she had four kids. Why didn't she just call him and say, "Hey, I'm a single mother with four kids, little money, and no friends. Can we reschedule?" Because we wouldn't have a shot of four cute little girls looking pitiful in the pub alleyway, that's why.
Megan Dillard: I thought that this short was very real to life. You can grasp as you're watching how the lead female character's life has gone, especially after the meeting with David. I liked the handheld aspect and some of the dutch angles on the food and the mom while she's trying to handle all of the children. It makes their life seem frantic and upside down. The shots in the bar are all focused on Dave who is on the far side with moving subjects in front that are all very fuzzy, which makes him feel far away while she's dealing with not being able to pay for the drinks. I was a little uncomfortable with the way she handles her kids in the last half. Sending them into an alley to eat scraps while she made out with some guy in a car was weird to watch. But I understand why she didn't tell him she had kids; he doesn't seem like the kind of nice guy that would still be into her after knowing that. I thought she had redeemed herself when she shoved him off to check on her kids, but then she blamed it on them. And in the end, the "jerk guy" character ended up caring more about the kids than she did.
I liked this film because it was simply entertaining to me. It was real and the way they chose to shoot it was original. The little kids were fantastic actors. Also, the way the film was shot told a story within itself, which is what you want.
I was very impressed with the camera techniques used in this movie. I normally don't like shaky cam but for this movie I think it worked. the shaky cam gave a sense of urgency to the scene wich added a feeling of suspension. the acting from the kids was really impressive. I have seen plenty of child actors screw up a perfectly good movie however, the girls in this movie really made the film more desperate.
I thought that this was a really great film. At the beginning I was a little against the excessive handycam style but in the end it really helped move this story along and put you more into the charters lives. The kids did an amazing job acting and conveying just how it would be if someone were living in that situation. Right from the beginning we jump into the lives of these characters and at first I didn't think that the mother was really their mother because of how irresponsible she was and I couldn't imagine any mother treating her kids that way. I like how in the bio it talks about how the director set it up that in the beginning when we first meet him we automatically dislike him because we think he's just trying to hook up with her but in the end we see the other side of him when he buys them all food and doesn't just leave them behind. I like the film because it shows that some people actually live this way and it tells the story in a way that doesn't feel like you are sitting through a long film.
ReplyDeleteGwen Gardiner: I can definitely see why this film is very popular, even though I myself did not really enjoy it. The story features very strong, convincing characters in a striking setting that creates a very strong mood throughout the whole film. This mood however, is not one I particularly care for. I didn’t really like the main character at all, even though she is portrayed somewhat realistically. I suppose I was too curious about her background, something the story skipped right over to focus more on that particular day. Overall camera work and sound was very good. I especially liked the moments when the camera had a wide-angle shot on the family and all you could hear was them walking. It seemed to me that those shots really set the tone for the upcoming scene. The ending of the film however, seemed to me as though it resolved nothing. But I guess that’s pretty realistic as well. You can’t solve life’s problem in one day.
ReplyDeleteAndy Barksdale:
ReplyDeleteThis is a really hard film to "enjoy", but I thought that it was very well made and emotionally involving. From the second the film starts, it throws us into the world that the mother and her children live in. It's very gritty and dirty looking, much like the world this family lives in, and the handheld camera and use of numerous close-ups really help to pull us into what's going on and feel like we're a part of this world too. There was also an underlying feeling of tension throughout the entire movie, like it was all leading to something bad, and I liked the way it built that tension through its style and story. It does get to a point in which the mother is pretty unlikeable, especially when she is yelling at her children for not looking after each other properly while she's off with David, but I also thought she was sympathetic in the way that she was trying as hard as she could to care for the children while also trying to hold onto some part of a social life. It's clearly not an easy life that she and these children are living, and overall I really appreciated the way that this film gave us a slice of their lives in what seemed like an extremely authentic way.
Kristine Barclay:
ReplyDeleteI liked the way the chose to film this, it was as shaky and unstable as that family's life. I didn't like the moms out burst because I didn't see it fitting in, like the out burst wasn't warranted. The kids were amazing little actors, that role must have been a stressful role for young girls to play. But the playful way of the family was very cute, clearly the mom is not the best mom. It was a nice short with a different plot and I enjoyed it.
Josh Berry:
ReplyDeleteFor starters, this film was very realistic. At first, I felt kind of indifferent about the use of the camera in the very beginning. The excessive shakiness of the camera was a bit much for me, but I do feel that it added a bit of realism to the film. The more that I think about it, I don't think the scene would've been executed correctly if the camera had been still. Throughout the entire clip, I tried not to focus so much on the story-line, but instead, the use of the camera. I saw various use of shots that were discussed in class. After a while, I had almost completely forgotten that I was supposed to be paying attention to the actual plot of the film as well. For that reason, I went back and watched it over again. The characters acted their parts out very well. Once again, they added to the realistic feel that was conveyed in the film. The plot was pretty good, but I would've liked to have seen a little more of the "everyday" life of the characters. Other than that, the film was good. If I had to rate it on a scale of one to ten, I'd give it about an eight.
Jake Fabian:
ReplyDeleteI mildly enjoyed this but I've seen other movies do this kind of thing before, and much better at that. Technically, it's a mixed bag quality-wise. There are some really affecting shots. The one that sticks with me most was when she lets the wasp out of her kitchen. There were also many great, expressive extreme close-up shots. However, I wasn't altogether sold on the hand-held camera. While it did lend a sense of gritty realism, there were a few moments where I had to look away before the onset of nausea.
The story is good if not a little manipulative. I know we're supposed to sympathize with the mother, but in the end I don't think her situation completely justified her absolutely trashy decisions. I get that desperate situations drive people to doing stupid things, but seriously, this perfect, charitable chav knew that she had four kids. Why didn't she just call him and say, "Hey, I'm a single mother with four kids, little money, and no friends. Can we reschedule?" Because we wouldn't have a shot of four cute little girls looking pitiful in the pub alleyway, that's why.
Megan Dillard:
ReplyDeleteI thought that this short was very real to life. You can grasp as you're watching how the lead female character's life has gone, especially after the meeting with David. I liked the handheld aspect and some of the dutch angles on the food and the mom while she's trying to handle all of the children. It makes their life seem frantic and upside down. The shots in the bar are all focused on Dave who is on the far side with moving subjects in front that are all very fuzzy, which makes him feel far away while she's dealing with not being able to pay for the drinks.
I was a little uncomfortable with the way she handles her kids in the last half. Sending them into an alley to eat scraps while she made out with some guy in a car was weird to watch. But I understand why she didn't tell him she had kids; he doesn't seem like the kind of nice guy that would still be into her after knowing that.
I thought she had redeemed herself when she shoved him off to check on her kids, but then she blamed it on them. And in the end, the "jerk guy" character ended up caring more about the kids than she did.
I liked this film because it was simply entertaining to me. It was real and the way they chose to shoot it was original. The little kids were fantastic actors. Also, the way the film was shot told a story within itself, which is what you want.
ReplyDeleteJoel Powe
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with the camera techniques used in this movie. I normally don't like shaky cam but for this movie I think it worked. the shaky cam gave a sense of urgency to the scene wich added a feeling of suspension. the acting from the kids was really impressive. I have seen plenty of child actors screw up a perfectly good movie however, the girls in this movie really made the film more desperate.