'The Ellington Kid' (2012)

 Coursework 8

 

The Ellington Kid’s narrative creates a rich tapestry of themes such as violence, knife crime, teenage conflicts and societal perceptions constructing a discourse on how these themes interact and shape an individual’s life and societal norms. 

 

The Ellington Kid’s narrative is layered as it crosscuts between flashbacks and the present moment. The use of flashbacks are skilfully used to provide context and to encode the societal realities of the circumstances of the boy’s story. The film’s narrative is directed by a monologue spoken by one of the two boys which reveals both character and tone. The crosscutting between the boys eating in the kebab shop and the violent events that occurred there previously helps add a sense of comedy to reduce the menacing and dark nature of the story. The witty dark comedy allows for the spectator to deepen their intrigue and follow the drama and tension as it unravels without there being a gruesome outcome leaving the spectator unsettled. Like ‘Tight Jeans’, it uses a witty and natural dialogue adding to the realism and relaxed nature of the film, contrasting what they are talking about which in both cases is rather deep and disturbing topics told in a light-hearted manner. Due to the absurdity of the story’s claim of a knife showdown in a kebab shop it uses setting to create a sense of realism, similarly to ‘Over’, ‘Tight Jeans’ and ‘Slap’, which all use traditional British urban settings to ground the narrative and allow the spectator to believe the story or at least see it as possible and apply it to the world around them. The establishing shot of the kebab shop clarifies setting while also positioning the spectator to bring their stereotypes of areas like the one shown in London to create their own expectations of the film emphasising socioeconomic issues. Character responses mirror the settings they are in emphasising how influential the society around us in in building us as individuals. This is something I feel is important when creating a film which is the setting being an outward reflection of a character’s feelings and identity. This also helps to create irony as the film subverts the genre expectations as it is originally framed as a sort of gangster film, similarly to ‘The Fly’, however as the film unfolds the standard tropes are subverted allowing for a narrative twist at the end. This adds to the unpredictability of the film and encourages reflection from the spectator on the absurdity of violence but also of life itself. The enigma code of the burger established at the start of the film allows for a subtle comedic ending rather than an overstated punchline. 

 

At the start of the film, we hear diegetic synchronous sound of knives being sharpened and slicing through meat which is paired with close ups of knives being sharpened. This allows for tension to be heightened but also in a way the proximity creates a sort of intimacy which could perhaps be a commentary on the familiarity of knife crime in the UK and the growing normalisation the public feel to violence due to the overexposure in the digital age which results in people seeing the news of violence as distant tales that don’t happen in our lives, a similar message is explored in ‘Over’. This again emphasises the importance of setting in making the film feel real to the spectator. 

 

Similarly to ‘Operator’ and ‘The Arrival’, lighting is used to evoke danger and uncertainty which reflects the drama which is unfolding. The low-key lighting and the high-key lighting create a contrast of shadows making the flashbacks seem more unsettling. The harsh bright light of the kebab shop can be seen as a symbol of hope however the kebab workers which are previously positioned as heroes are made more morally ambiguous as their potential barbarity is hinted to at the end. This moral ambiguity encourages the spectator to reflect and evaluate the motivations of the characters and their action, illustrating that the world is not so black and white, and the world cannot be so easily divided between good guys and bad guys, making it hard to apply Propp’s character functions. The editing keeps the pace and tension escalating alongside the growing conflict. Slow motion is also used to emphasis certain moments in the film’s narrative giving them more dramatic weight and allows for the spectator to reflect on what is about to happen. Sound also further emphasises this, allowing moments of tension to be heightened as well as amplifying discomfort with an oversensitivity to sound created in the spectator which is also done in ‘The Fly’. It also uses ambient sound to create realism and allows the spectator to further venture into the setting.

 

In the flashbacks time appears more fragmented, perhaps reflecting the stabbed boys mental state or the disjointed nature of recollection which is similar to ‘Echo’ which used jump cuts also to create the feeling of fragmented time. The film sort of inherits a contemporary adaption of a Todorovian narrative. The equilibrium is the boys eating, the disruption is the bite taken from the burger which starts the story, recognition is the kid being stabbed in the kebab shop, the rectification to restore equilibrium is the knife standoff in the kebab shop and the new equilibrium established is the joke at the end. The use of Todorov in ‘The Ellington Kid’ allows for us to reflect on how we can either encompass a conventional narrative or go against narrative conventions. ‘The Ellington Kid’ is short and sweet as it doesn’t try to do too much in a little amount of time. This encourages reflection on what is possible to unravel in just 4-5 minutes where a narrative needs to be closed and leave the spectator satisfied. It is a trap many short films fall victim to as they tend to be too ambitious for the time they are. Although my film will only last 4-5 minutes, I want it to leave a lasting impression that lasts beyond the running time.