Essex Boys

Essex Boys
Director: Terry Winsor

Country Made: UK

Awards: none

Year Made: 2000

User ratings: 5.8/10

My opinion: 7/10

The opening of Essex boys moves from the credits into a crack of sunlight from within a pitch black room. It begins on a point of view shot which gives the impression of someone being imprisoned as it is as though the audience are the ones trapped inside. As the crack of light is enhanced due to the garage door being opened, there's an emphasis on the garage door opening giving the impression of danger and power being projected from the character Billy. Garages are an important location of thriller films as they can often be used as hideouts, murder scenes or storage of drugs or illegal items. The garage is revealed as dirty and desolate making the location appear sinister and dodgy environment. The character Billy has to move cobwebs out of the way when he's trying to get into the car therefore representing his character to trying to get brush away a troublesome past.

The low ambient lighting used within this opening shot is Chirascura and makes Billy and Locke appear dark and frightening as it gives off the feeling of a depressing and sinister atmosphere. This is used in other thrillers such as Fight Club when Marla and The Narrator (Edward Norton) are situated in the room for people suffering from fatal diseases.

As it moves out from the garage the scene around the car is shot so it's nearly black and white showing as a tribute to past thrillers such as Psycho and the Third Man. It also shows the surrounding area as unglamerous setting the scene of dirty dealings and murder. As the car goes into the tunnel it gives the impression of a gun going into a bullet which allows you to assoociate Billy and Locke in the car with death. And within the tunnel the lighting moves across the drivers face creating lines which gives the impression of prison bars and the situation Billy is about to get into suggests that it's dangerous.

The costume used of Locke and Billy is dark and generic to that of a traditional thriller film in the way its dark and simplistic. With Billy wearing a leather jacket to show his status and to know he's no to be messed with and Locke in a casual shirt and black jacket letting the audience know he's higher up from Billy as he doesn't need costume to represent this. This costume is a feature of British thriller where the gangster (Billy)will be wearing casual attire which makes him appear tougher. This contrasts to the American thriller such as Reservoir Dogs which see's the gangsters wearing a full suit and tie, making them appear superior and dangerious. However it also follows similar attributes of the 'Boss' wearing casual costume to show he's superior to everyone else.

The non-diagetic voiceover and medium shot of Billy in the car establishes him as the main character and alows us to see through his eyes as he lets us into his own thoughts and processes. he appears on edge as his crime partner Locke suddenly appears in the windscreen. The close up of Locke's face see's him as the higher character as his expression his evil and menacing as he's trying to frighten Billy. This shows him as a victim as most criminals are seen as confident and in the know where as he's shown as being shocked by the actions and violence around him.

When they are in the car heading to their destination there is a medium shot of Billy driving with the light reflecting on the windscreen. The light is going over Billys face in thin lines which represents someone being imprisoned or trapped. It represents the bad nature of these two characters and how their rebellion against the law.

As they reach the meat packing factory they switch their vehical to a white van. A white van is a generic feature of a thriller as a white van will often be used to harbour criminals or illegal substances therefore representing crime. Therefore this switch of vehical lets the audience understand this. The White van also represents entrapment as the person inside is completley vulnerable with no way out.