My Film Studies – Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog

Perfect Blue: Appearances vs Reality ★★★★½

Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997) is a psychological thriller produced by the animation studio Madhouse. Inspiring future directors such as Darren Aronofsky to create the likes of Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream, Perfect Blue is not only a staple of the medium of anime, but a staple of the psychological thriller genre as a whole.

We follow our protagonist, Mima Kirigoe as she decides to leave the Japanese pop idol group ‘CHAM!’ in order to pursue an acting career. As the film progresses, Mima begins to notice things out of the ordinary and becomes victim to stalkers. Additionally, brutal murders begin to occur and Mima begins to lose her grip on reality.

The film tackles many powerful themes, predominantly the idea of appearances vs reality and preserving your idealistic ‘avatar’. Since its release in 1997, this idea has only become more apparent in today’s online society as we all carefully purport a sense of flawlessness through the use of social media.

*Appearances vs Reality within Perfect Blue*

Throughout Perfect Blue’s mere 80 minute runtime, Kon manages to tell an enthralling and captivating story through a number of interesting techniques. Through clever use of editing, you never quite know if what you’re seeing is the reality of the situation or whether it is merely the distorted perception of the world Mima holds. Kon takes inspiration from auteurs such as Lynch and Kubrick to construct a mind-bending mystery.

Cinematographer Hisao Shirai also does a fantastic job throughout the film. In the above picture, Shirai expertly makes use of reflections to reinforce the main theme of duality throughout the film. Furthermore, the way the light reflects the exterior buildings in the window makes for a breathtaking visual and keeps you intrigued.

Satoshi Kon’s striking debut film led to the aforementioned Darren Aronofsky buying the rights to Perfect Blue, primarily to recreate the infamous bathtub scene in Black Swan. In addition, both films contain a colour in the title as well as a similarly named central protagonist (Mima and Nina) obsessed with achieving perfection.

Overall, Perfect Blue is a fantastic film that does not overstay its welcome and expertly crafts an emotional and psychedelic mystery. Mima’s character is subtly developed throughout and the film carefully rises to a shocking crescendo presented in the final act.

Dune (2021) ★★★★

Dune (2021, Denis Villeneuve) is the first instalment of a sci-fi epic based on the classic 1965 novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. With an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac bringing stellar performances to the table, Dune establishes an excellent foundation for Villeneuve to build upon in the future.

The central protagonist of Dune is Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto who rules House Atreides, who have just been granted the desert planet Arrakis. Arrakis (otherwise known as Dune) is habitat to the most valuable commodity in the universe, the spice Melange which preserves life and makes interstellar travel possible. Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice, and whoever controls the spice controls the universe.

Dune is a profound visual spectacle, with every shot being meticulously crafted and visually intriguing. Villeneuve and Greig Fraser (cinematographer) cleverly utilise both practical effects and CGI to create the perfect blend of tactility and visual flair.

From an auditory standpoint, Dune also excels. Villeneuve diligently uses emphatic diegetic sound such as the sand thumpers and ripples and powerful non-diegetic sound, such as Hans Zimmer’s expertly composed score. In an interview, Villeneuve expressed that he utilised Zimmer’s majestic score to replicate the heavy use of character internalisation by Frank Herbert in the original source material.

The film does, however, suffer from a few minor pacing issues. Being the first instalment of a larger franchise, Dune requires a significant amount of exposition and world-building in order to honour the legacy of the novel, which in some aspects hinders its ability to produce a compelling narrative akin to other ‘first films’ such as A New Hope or The Fellowship of the Ring. Other filmmakers in the past such as David Lynch have failed to accurately replicate the essence of Herbert’s ‘unfilmable’ epic, merely acting as a highlight reel of the events of the novel.

Overall, Dune is a fantastic sci-fi adventure which excels in the areas of cinematography, sound design, performance and mise-en-scène and I thoroughly await the newly-confirmed second instalment.

The Silence of the Lambs ★★★★½

The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) is a psychological horror/thriller starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. The film, based on a 1988 novel of the same name, revolves around Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee who must acquire information from Dr Hannibal Lecter, a psychopathic criminal and former psychiatrist to locate and apprehend another serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill.

Clarice works in a male-dominated field of occupation and director Jonathan Demme makes this evident from the very start. Use of diligent cinematography emphasises the patriarchal society of the FBI and the theme of gender reoccurs throughout the duration of the film.

*Use of colour, mise-en-scène and framing to differentiate Clarice*

The film’s plot remains engaging and enthralling throughout, with intelligent use of tension and terror to illustrate a looming, hopeless atmosphere at the forefront of it all. Hannibal within the confines of his cell remains an extremely iconic image of cinema and is the most likely the first image you picture when discussing The Silence of the Lambs.

*Hannibal within the con*fines of his cell

The performances throughout the film are magnificent – specifically Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal. It’s no wonder that his mere sixteen minutes of screen time awarded him the prestigious Best Actor award at the Oscars. Hopkins’ cold, psychopathic demeanour can be perceived throughout the entire film, despite not featuring in the majority of scenes.

Additionally, Foster’s ruthless and fearless attitude instills courage within the audience, and the question of whether the killer will finally be caught keeps you engaged throughout.

The incredible cinematography of The Silence of the Lambs was shot by Tak Fujimoto. The film never feels the need to use cheap tricks such as jump-scares to terrify the audience, but instead, relies on much more nuanced and effective means to do so.

For example, the film uses a multitude of POV shots as well as close-ups to emphasise Lecter’s dominating presence. Fujimoto’s cinematography primarily accentuates characters’ eyes; this is done to induce fear within the audience, as well as show how fear has been induced within other characters. Furthermore, multiple shots use an interesting choice of lighting to illustrate an unsettling atmosphere.

*Lighting and cinematography within The Silence of the Lambs*

Prisoners ★★★★½

The most recent film that I watched was Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve, 2013). It is a crime thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and Maria Bello.

*Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) and Keller Dover (Jackman)*

The plot of the film is simple at face value – an unknown suspect has abducted two young girls – one being the daughter of our main protagonist: Keller Dover, and the other being the daughter of Dover’s friends Franklin and Nancy Birch. The police take a young suspect into custody immediately (Paul Dano) and release him soon after. Keller, adamant that the police have just released the true suspect, then decides to take matters into his own hands.

This simple yet effective mystery is expertly explored throughout the duration of the film. Prisoners gives you so many subtle hints throughout, and keeps you guessing until the very end. The film never feels the need to spoon-feed you crucial information throughout. Instead, the audience is required to put the pieces together in their own minds and the ending is just ambiguous enough to leave you wondering.

The acting performances from everyone throughout the film – especially Jackman and Gyllenhaal – are masterclass. The raw and genuine desperation of Keller Dover is clearly conveyed through Jackman’s performance and Detective Loki’s ruthlessness is portrayed expertly by Gyllenhaal.

The beautiful cinematography of Prisoners was shot by the one and only: Roger Deakins. His many masterful techniques throughout the film include frequent shooting through dirty glass, frames within frames and muted colour palettes (browns, greys, etc.) All of these techniques work in tandem throughout the film to emphasise the hopelessness of Dover’s situation and the reoccurring pathetic fallacy of rain emphasises the desperation of each main character – primarily Loki and Dover.