Adrift (2018)
The first film I have looked at is Adrift, starring Shailene Woodley it focuses on Woodley's character and her boyfriend sailing a boat for miles across the Pacific Ocean. Whilst on their journey they run into Hurricane Raymond, which completely destroys half of their boat. This film has a heavy focus on trauma, as a result of the traumatic experience of being in the centre of a hurricane, Woodley's character experiences loss, grief and hallucinations. She hallucinates her boyfriend still being alive, he is hurt from the wreckage and she has to take care of him; classic signs of grief she uses her hallucinations to survive for 41 days stranded on a wrecked boat, floating to the nearest destination. The narrative structure that the film follows is simple but effective, it follows the couple as the embark on this journey together, go through the hurricane together and get through the wreckage together, it isn't until the very last day before she is rescued, that it becomes clear she has been hallucinating her boyfriend the entire time, that he actually died in the hurricane. This is really effective in my opinion for two reasons, firstly because it is shock factor for the audience that he actually died in the hurricane and for most of the film he has actually been dead, and secondly because it really stresses the effects of trauma and grief and how real it can feel for a person, it induces empathy within the audience.House at the End of the Street (2012)
The way in which a person reacts to grief can differ in many ways; sometimes it can send a person manic. 2012 thriller House at the End of the Street starring Jennifer Lawrence and Max Thierot, and is a perfect example of portraying the mental effects trauma can have on a person. Thierot's character Ryan went through the death of his sister (due to an accident playing on swings) when he was a child, as a result of the loss his parents dressed him in girls clothes and a wig and therefore made him act as if he was his dead sister. As a result of the emotional and physical abuse that his parents put onto him, he killed his mother and father, took the wig off and led everyone to believe it was his sister who killed them and he was innocent. Years later he is living in the same house on his own, with next to no family or friends around him, Lawrence's character Elissa befriends him before she discovers he has kidnapped a series of girls and locked them in his cellar, dressing them like his sister and pretending that is what they are. The trauma and grief that his parents faced when losing their daughter, caused them to react in such a negative way that they denied it every happened, they would have preferred to have lost their son over their daughter. Furthermore they have caused their son even more mental damage by forcing him to act like his sister, thus turning him into a maniac abductor. Such a negative effect of trauma allows for the narrative to be much more complicated and twisted, in comparison to the simplicity of Adrift. This can be linked more to mental health issues rather than just trauma, Ryan clearly displays many mental health issues, this is emphasised by the closing shot of the film which shows Ryan committed to some form of mental asylum. Something else that i find interesting about this is exploring how reluctant Ryan was to talk to anyone about his issues, he felt like he couldn't talk to anyone about his issues and this perhaps was his downfall and caused him to become what he became. Something I will be exploring more within my own ideas.Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club is a really interesting film that portrays multiple personality disorder, the main character known as 'The Narrator' believes he has befriended a man named Tyler (played by Brad Pitt) who manages to show The Narrator a whole new, risk and care free way of life. By the end it is revealed that The Narrator and Tyler are actually the same person; the character just has what is known as multiple personality disorder. This means that a person can act in completely polar opposite ways, like different people completely. The thing i find most effective within this film is the realism and shock factor to the audience. As a viewer you are left thinking that they are two completely different people, only subtle hints such as Tyler appearing on screen in one quick second flash, imply that they are the same person. Firstly this is entertaining for the viewer, its part of the story that keeps them engaged and it is a good narrative twist. However it also really illiterates the realism of the disorder, it is a real thing that is effecting people everyday and this is really illustrated within the film. It helps to bring awareness to the idea as well.
Unsane (2018)
Unsane is a really interesting film to look at; because it implies some mental health issues when they are not really there. It is a film realised in 2018 and it was filmed all on an iPhone 7 Plus starring Claire Foy. The overall plot revolves around the character of Sawyer, who believes she is being stalked, once she speaks to a therapist about the issues she is having she unknowingly gets herself committed to a mental health ward where she is kept in for observation. Whilst she is in their, her stalker gets a job and begins haunting her there, she eventually ends up escaping the ward, and contacts the police - after having to kill her stalker in self defence as he tries to rape her and kills her mother. Six months later she is sitting having lunch with a colleague, and she sees her stalkers face and nearly stabs him before realised she is just hallucinating and it is actually an innocent man. The reason i wanted to include this in my research is because in a way the narrative is what causes the character to have mental health issues, rather than beginning the story with someone who has these issues already. The entire film revolves around Sawyer trying to get help, to convince someone she is okay and she is being messed with by this stalker, and by the time she manages to do this and get her life back together, she starts suffering with hallucinations. Linking back to my research i believe this is an example of someone having PTSD from trauma they have experience recently.Overall, the reason i have looked at these films in particular is because they all look at a different aspect of mental health or trauma, and they present to the audience the effects that that can have on someones everyday life. This is someone i would really like to do, i would like to pose an issue, something that is physically, emotionally and mentally effecting someones life. I would like a story that starts in the middle of the problem, a character suffering with long term effects of trauma, and by the end of the story I would like to show the audience that their is an understanding of the problem for the character. The research I have done on trauma, and the above films that portray mental health, will allow me to create a factually correct portrayal of a character that is suffering.
No comments:
Post a Comment