Your Typical Movie example essay topic

Meantime The plot this movie, just like the sound quality, is poor. This film is the one of the only movies that I have seen that all of the characters are static throughout the entire ordeal. Mike Leigh has so much potential in the actors, and somehow he loses sight of what holds a movie together. The movie kept my attention, mostly because I was straining to hear what the British characters had to say. The background noise and out of tune piano may have been a decision to add to the movie's meaning, but it definitely took away from actually understanding of what the characters said. Where were the subtitles?

The dialogue spoken felt like drunken jargon on a BBC infomercial. I would highly recommend the viewer to rent a British translator to hold your hand during the movie. I do not think there is any way that one can be happy and jovial in this setting. The streets are littered with trash on what seems like a cloudy day everyday. I give credit to the wardrobe department for fitting the characters without flaw.

The drab clothing and unusual styles bring ones imagination to London in the 1980's. The one bright spot in this movie is the superb acting. Colin (Tim Roth) brings a perspective of a slightly retarded twenty something year old that is torn between decisions that he must make, but eventually are made for him. Mark, who is brilliantly played by Phil Daniels, is a character who you want to hate at sometimes, but at other times he shows deep emotion for his brother. This brotherly anti-thesis is one of the major points in this movie. It is quite intriguing to see how a slightly retarded character is going to act to certain situations.

I believe one of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when Colin, the quieter of the two brothers, yells at his parents in complete disgust after they approach him about his painting job he did not start. Everyone in the house gives Colin some much needed attention, but then continues on with daily life of bickering. This movie is a broadening experience into the lives of a family in London during the 80's. This is a difficult time in England where unemployment rates are high. Frank (Jeff Roberts) is my favorite character in this movie.

He is the one key figure in this movie that could change everyone's lives. If Frank could get motivated and get a job, it would not surprise me if the family would fall back in to order. That idea is too easy for a Mike Leigh film though. He doesn't let the viewer watch in the typical way one watches an American Blockbuster. That is the one thing that upsets me after I watch this movie. The family has done nothing about their situation.

They spend what little money they have on cigarettes, alcohol, and bingo. There is no major character changes or plot developments. This is a movie about nothing. A question that this movie brings up is, what does it take for one to be happy? Well, typical American films would have you believe that the life Barbara (Marion Bailey) leads is positive. She has a college education and middle class status, but still has deep issues inside her.

This movie feeds off of negativity like a snowball going down a winter mountain. Colin is looking to break through of this negativity and devote his attention to something positive. Why would we want to feel good at the movies? Mike Leigh does not think that we need to. Copy (Gary Oldman) plays a skin head bully who gets through to Colin. This symbolizes Colin taking the easy way out of the situation.

He could have worked and tried to accomplish goals and prove his family wrong, but he ends up falling back into the pit of living off the welfare check and sleeping cramped up. I did enjoy the very sparse amounts of humor that Leigh threw my way. It was a pleasant change of direction from the 99% depressed state that this movie is in. I think it is comical when Colin returns the pen top covered in drool back to the unemployment office. This action just deepens the thoughts that Colin does not realize what is going on around him. He experiences nothing in his life except the government flats.

The only friends he has are his brother's friends. Leigh toys with our emotions during this British film. We want something exciting and dynamic to take place. It does not. Although I consider this movie to be an average drama, I am not considering any American to watch this movie. It is not your typical movie, and that is what makes it unbearable to watch.

It is sad to say this, but American society has brain washed us with what should be entertainment. This movie is interesting (interestingly boring).

Bibliography

Meantime. Dir. Mike Leigh. Perf. Marian Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tome Roth, Pam Ferris, Jeff Roberts, and Alfred Molina. FilmFour International, 1997.