Writing Assignment: Film Appreciation

Students,
Your new assignment is to write a film appreciation essay. Read the guide to critical assessment of a film below. Use them as a guide to take notes on the film you are reviewing. Sometimes it is necessary to watch a film more than once to notice the subtle nuances, themes and devices used to convey mood, emotion, action etc. Collect your notes and write a 1 page essay, follow the review guidelines below. Try to answer all the questions laid out below.

Film Review Guidelines

1: Offer your overall impression of the film while mentioning the movie's title, director, and key actors.
2: Summarize the plot of the film
3: How did the actors portray key character roles? Did they fulfill your expectations given your knowledge of the original novel or play (if one exists)?
4: Were any particular film techniques used in key scenes? How did the film techniques anmd music enhance the setting and themes of the film? You may need two paragraphs to explain this information.
5: Address how well the film represents the novel or play. Offer evidence for your opinion. Remember to mention use of symbols and literary devices. Do they "transfer" from the novel/play into the movie well?
6: Ending paragraph--your last opportunity to guide the reader. Offer a clincher that tells the reader to attend the film or not.

7: Create your essay with 12 Point Text, single spaced, Ariel. You can write it with Word, Pages or Google Docs and email to me, or print and hand in.

Guide to Critical Assessment of Film
The following questions should help you in your critical evaluation of your film choice for your assigned essay. Please keep in mind that sophisticated film, like literature, requires more than one viewing to begin to appreciate its purpose beyond merely the plot. You will need to view your film with this in mind. You should use some of these questions to as a guide for taking notes on your film.

BACKGROUND

• Who is the writer of the film? Has the screenplay been adapted from another work?
• Who is the director?
• When was the film made?

STRUCTURE / FORM

• What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole?
• How are the opening credits presented? Do they relate to a meaning?
• Why does the film start in the way that it does?
• Are there any motifs (scenes, images) of dialogue which are repeated? What purpose do they serve?
• What three or four scenes or sequences are most important in the film? Why?
• Is sound used in any vivid ways either to enhance the film? (i.e. Enhance drama, heighten tension, disorient the viewer, etc.)
• How does the film use color or light/dark to suggest tone and mood in different scenes?
• Are there any striking uses of perspective (seeing through a character's eyes, camera angle, etc.) How does this relate to the meaning of the scene?
• What specific scene constitutes the film's climax? How does this scene resolve the central issue of the film?
• Does the film leave any disunities (loose ends) at the end? If so, what does it suggest? What might happen next that is left unseen.
• Why does the film conclude on this particular image?

THEME

• What is the definitive or overall theme of the film?
• Does the film present a clear point-of-view on this theme?
• Are there any aspects of the theme which are left ambiguous at the end? Why?
• How does this film relate to the other literary texts or films you have read or seen?

Have fun!
Review's are due on Monday the 23rd...

- Mr.W