The Selfish Giant- Film Analysis

The Selfish Giant is a 2013 Drama with aspects of Crime and Social Realism, released in 2013 by  Artificial Eye, Film4 and The British Film Institute the film explores the life of two young male protagonists (Arbor and Swifty) who take up illegal work as they are excluded from school in an attempt to improve their poverty stricken lives. I thought the main themes of the film were friendship,exploitation and poverty.  Micro features are used throughout the film to give us a clear insight into what life is like for two young boys who attempt to improve their families financial situations by firstly collecting scrap metal and then cutting more valuable cables as the 'Selfish Giant' allows them to become more involved in this dangerous illegal line of work.   

We immediately see Arbors anger expressed as he repeatedly hits the bottom of his bed at the start of the film, this short scene is filmed in a close up angle allowing the audience to see the genuine rage Arbors character experiences, in juxtaposition to Arbors frantic rage we see Swifty introduced as quite a calm character as the close up also features him holding Arbors hand in attempt to calm him down. This gives us the impression that they possibly have almost a brotherly friendship as Swifty knows exactly how to control Arbors anger and obviously cares for him as he repeatedly comforts him until he eventually becomes calm. This later on becomes ironic as Swifty again trys to help Arbor but in a different situation, the close up of the two holding hands is again used possibly symbolising their friendship and how Swiftys compassion for Arbors angry personality was never going to benefit him. 

Mis en scene was also key in allowing the audience to gain a perspective on the harsh, grim reality some people have to face, for example we see that Swiftys family have to eventually sell their sofa in order to pay rent, this clearly shows that they are experiencing poverty as their living room is now bare as the sofa was their only remaining possession. Dirty old looking clothes are worn by both protagonists on a day to day basis, this connotes their families obvious lack of money, and may even show how hard the two boys are willing to work (collecting scrap metal) in order to try and improve their families situations. 

In conclusion I thought the mis en scene gave us a clear image and allowed us to gain a perspective on what live is like for many people experiencing poverty in England (Bradford), the overall performance of the two boys also made the film all the more realistic as local dialect was used. Finally I thought The Cinematography used throughout enhanced the emotion felt in the believable friendship between Swifty and Arbor as various shots were used, like the close up of Swifty comforting Arbor in his moment of rage at the beginning of the film.