The film opens with typical romantic music featuring mainly the violin which is a typical feature of a romantic film. The setting is in a natural setting by a glistening river surrounded by trees which is romantic, a medium shot using shallow focus reveals a couple kissing which straight away connotes to the audience the film genre. However, the camera zooms outwards revealing a man with his hands fixed playing the piano showing that they are adding music to the film. This subverts the usual expectations of a romance film as the character is just a normal person and does not appear to be as attractive as characters are shown in other romance films. The voice over of Kate Winslet as the character Iris combined with the music indicates to the reader that this is not going to be the typical perfect romance story as the voice over brings a sense of reality and will portray what being in a relationship is actually like for people, therefore the audience can relate to this. A close up shot reveals a woman on her phone smiling, this indicates to the audience that herself and the man are in a good relationship with each other. Shot reverse shot is used to show the mans smile which indicates that he loves the woman and is happy in the relationship. A close up shot reveals the man kissing her hand, this conforms to usual characteristics of a romance film as this action is romantic and can be seen as quite a traditional sign of affection. Shot reverse shot portray their exchanges of laughter and smiles which portrays the fact that they both share similar feelings towards each other. A dolly shot is used and changes from the male known as Jack, the violin becomes more powerful to keep attention. As the scene changes the film title 'The Holiday' appears in a white font which is a neutral colour, so this represents the two genders as a couple. A close up shot reveals a woman inside a car with a serious expression on her face. Shot reverse shot reveals a man next to her with the same look on his face. A close up shot reveals the both of them, shallow focus blurs the male focusing on the female. This suggests that she is more effected by whatever has gone wrong in their relationship. This scene is a contrast with the previous scene and portrays to the audience the reality of some relationships. An establishing shot reveals a three lane road in an area filled with Christmas lights, Christmas is romantic so therefore conforms to characteristics of romance films. Other films such as 'Love Actually' are set around Christmas time.
No comments:
Post a Comment