"Highrise" Caroline Robertson

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004rry1
Link to film above.

This is another film of the social realism genre, again with a deep and stark meaning behind it. The film opens up with a shot of the setting, which is Yorkshire. It pans around and ends up zooming in on a council estate block of flats, and as it brings us inside one of them and we see the messy surroundings it is clear this is portraying a working class family.

We are introduced to the mother, who appears to be single. Her expression is shown to us via a close up shot and she appears bored, not only of the tv but also of her life in general and perhaps the routine of it all. She appears to be jobless just staying at home with her daughter watching daytime tv, wishing for more. This helps the audience feel some sympathy for her and her situation.

The film is set in dull cold colours which help to represent the meaning behind the film, which itself is very cold and dark. I really liked the "cool" colouring and blues used in this film as I feel it really set the mood and atmosphere, and if appropriate I would probably try to incorporate this into a final piece at some point. The lighting is also dull, and there is no background music, only the continuous sound of the television presenter in the background, which becomes slightly irritating and emphasises the boredom and pathless life she appears to be leading at the moment.

As she see's her daughter crawl towards the window, she falls in slow motion, to illustrate her thoughts and reactions slowing down. She contemplates her actions and what she is about to do, as she watches the bottle drip milk in slow motion.

The audience is left horrified as she locks herself in a dark room allowing fate to take a hand and decide what will come next. Although this is clearly negligence and the audience feel sorry for the child, and afraid for her as well, the mother puts her hands together as though praying. She is clearly suffering from some form of deep depression.

As soon as she thinks she hears a cry, she runs out immediately, and realises her love is unconditional and no matter how much she may regret having her daughter, she would not have wanted her to have fallen from the window. This film underlines many issues such as single parenting and depression, which is why I think the women to play the mother is very young. It is depicting the story that many people may be able to relate to, or know someone else who can relate to it. Young single mothers, abandoned by the father of their child left to fend for themselves with no qualifications, unsure of where they are going in life. But at the end of the day, they always need and want family, shown by her sudden outburst in an attempt to quickly save her daughter, as though she can't believe herself for walking out of the room in the first place.