Movie: Red Sparrow (2018)
Director: Francis Lawrence
You are to write a critical analysis of a film. Select a suggested topic from below, or develop an original proposal for a film that you would like to examine more closely. Your focus should be on how the themes of the film are represented not only by the narrative storytelling and characterizations, but also through the unique qualities of cinema as the selected medium for telling the particular story of the film.
Be sure to consider the elements of cinema that we have been studying this semester, including: (1) cinematographic elements of shot composition, camera angles, camera movement, color and contrast; (2) aspects of the mise-en-scène, such as sets and locations, props, costumes and makeup, actor performances, special effects; (3) types of edits and the way shots are juxtaposed in a specific scene or sequence; and (4) the use of sound in the film from the musical scoring to realistic and invented sound effects and the nature of character dialogue, as well as any voice-over used in the film.
I am only interested in your independent observations about your selected film and the connections that you personally draw about the film’s use of cinematic techniques for communicating the narrative and emotional meaning of the story being told, along with your understanding of its cultural and social representations and significance.
