Film Analysis

Played (Stanek, 2006)

Genre
Played is a British gangster film starring a couple of American actors. The film is based in London full of crime and gangster mentality. It is obvious from the first minutes that the film is deep set with crime as a man on the phone is bleeding with another character dead in his swimming pool. This would imply that some sort of crime has taken place and when told that the house should be burnt down, the audience would come to the conclusion that the film contains a great deal of crime.
The audience watching the film would believe that they were watching a British gangster text with crime and violence riddled throughout, with Vinnie Jones as a star. The opening sequence of the film would fulfil their expectations as there is obviously some sort of violence with the crime of what would seem murder. However like many other films the star does not participate in the first few minutes of the film and the location is America. This may challenge the audience’s view of the text and they may be somewhat surprised that a British gangster film is not set in the conventional back alleys of London.
Although the opening of the film does not contain all of the conventions of a British gangster, being in America, it without doubt conforms perfectly to the genre chosen to theme the text.

Film Language
The mise-en-scene used in the opening sequence of the film help to portray the gangster activity. The props used are ones that would suggest some sort of crime or violence. A gun is lying on the arm of a sofa and a bag in the middle of the floor would all help to give the understanding that some sort of crime has taken place. The gun would symbolise and represent violence and so often a bag is used to transport around goods related with crime. Also the injured character, Ray, is wearing a suit. British gangster films often use suits for costumes. It shows their professionalism as the crime is usually a job that they do. It seems to be a very British thing to wear a suit especially in the gangster industry.
Although these two elements of mise-en-scene relate and convey meaning in the opening sequence, the lighting and location of the beginning seems to be unconventional. Usually British gangster films would be very dark using the back streets of London or a city in England, however the first few minutes of this text are set in America during broad daylight. The darkness often used shows that the crime is undercover and a very dark activity, but with the bright light used in the opening of Played, this is not the case. Perhaps the light shows the brutality of the violence as it is plain and clear for everybody to see.
The camera shots used at the beginning of the film play a big part in relating the images to the audience. There are a large number of close up shots showing injured Ray sweating and bleeding struggling to speak and keep himself alive. By using a close up the audience can see the struggle on his face and the pain that he is going through, although mid-shots are also use for the same reason as then it is possible to see the sheer amount of blood over his chest. However the close-ups are used for both characters in the opening sequence as the show off particularly well their expressions. The camera also uses a zoom obviously hand held shot as the camera is moving around a lot jogging the image. This creates tension, while moving in on the shocked expression of Dylan. The audience may wonder perhaps what exactly is happening and the camera shots would help to create interest in the audience. Also close up shots looking upwards slightly at the gun would show the gun as important and authoritative. The gun is obviously a very dangerous weapon and probably been used to inflict pain upon one of the characters and by showing it as a large demanding object it shows the sheer power that it holds.
The sound used in a film often helps to anchor the images being shown as is the case with Played. As Ray is on the phone clearly in pain it is possible to hear his heavy breathing which would help to enhance the sort of pain that he seems to be in. Also as the conversation ends, between what would seem two criminals, sirens are heard as Dylan looks over his shoulder. With a man bleeding it would seem that some crime has taken place and by inserting police sirens it proves to the audience that this is no doubt the case. Also as the sense of urgency looms large upon the audience sounds of a car revving its engine and screeching to a halt it fits perfectly with the fast moving camera shots adding to the urgency.
The audience finds out a small amount about only two characters in the first few minutes of the film as all the dialogue is based around one situation. We learn that through his actions of going to collect an unknown injured man without any force, Dylan seems to be a very respectful, kind, heroic character. However as he speaks about ‘burn the f***er down, its cleaner that way’ it seems that he also has a villainous side to him. But also this one sentence would also create the idea that he is a professional as keeping a cool head in such a situation would be very difficult unless experienced before. The audience learns very little about Ray from the dialogue in the opening as there is a very limited amount of dialogue for him slumped on the passenger seat of a car. Although from the narrative over the last few seconds, ‘never work with a crooked cop,’ the audience would see that he obviously has a great deal to do with crime, although quite what his personality holds is a mystery.

Narrative
The narrative is very short and only used at the very end of the opening to the film. It seems to be structured as if Ray is thinking to himself and the words spoken are what is running through his mind.
The audience get are in a privileged position as they get an insight to the film slightly quicker than the rest of the characters. Only they can understand the narrative and it helps them to understand the plot of the film as without the narrative it would take much longer to see Ray’s problem.
The narrative only seems to convey one theme, that of crime and crooked cops. British gangster films very often have a member of society such as a policeman with a respectful job that also takes part in the criminal activity. As the narration is very short it is difficult to fit in more than one theme.

Representation & Ideology
There seems to be very little representation of social groups during the opening sequence mainly because of the use of only two characters. One character seems to be a smartly dressed middle aged businessman with a life of crime and the other a casual criminal with a heroic personality. Businessmen are often represented by British gangster films as the crime is usually organised and seen as a business to many of the participants.
There seems to be only a couple of values present as ‘Played’ opens and possibly the main one would be comradeship for fellow men. Dylan saves the life of a male he does not know and has never had any contact with for what seems no reason what-so-ever. Often the British gangster genre conveys respect as a theme and value throughout the texts and perhaps respect is the reason that the saving of a life takes place. Clearly without respect this sort of action would not take place.
The characters used at the start of ‘Played’ are stock characters and very conventional to that of the British gangster genre. Two males involved in crime and violence are represented and what seems like the usual conventional businessman is present.
All the happenings shown during the first few minutes of the film fit with the genre chosen to be represented by the film. The crime and violence partnered by respect and the anti-hero create the exact actions that would be expected of a British gangster film.

Media Audiences
The target audience would be the younger generation of males. The younger generation often have a lust for action and crime and women are usually poorly represented in texts of this genre. The certificate is that of 18 year olds and so therefore would seem to be targeted at people just above this age.
The preferred reading of the text would be that the crime present in the film is wrong and such actions and participation in this type of lifestyle would not be suitable for an upstanding citizen. However it is very exciting and often it would be that the audience may wish to be able to lead such an exciting life.
The negotiated reading may be that the preferred reading is understood however some of the representation of beliefs throughout the film are completely unjust and wrong.
From a personal view I find the lifestyle very exciting and one that I think would be enjoyable to live. However I know that the gangster lifestyle is not as it is represented in films and not one that I could even consider taking up. I understand that all crime is wrong and obviously I would not participate in such events. I think that being brought up living in London for much of my childhood has shown me that there are many types of people who do lead such lives. I think by being a male and understanding that these people exist it interests me more as it is not often that a criminal can be seen as a heroic figurehead. If I were a female I believe that this genre would not interest me as such as the women are not often fairly represented and views can be very sexist.

Institutional Context
The film uses a well known loved actor and footballer to star in the text. Vinnie Jones is known by millions of people for his footballing prowess and ‘hard man’ personality. He started to act in films and has starred in some big films of the same and different genres including Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Mean Machine. By using a star it would help to attract audiences and inevitably make money for the producers. However he may also have been chosen for such a role as he is well known for his capability to perform well as very similar characters.
Simdale Pictures produced the film and it was an industrial film. The budget would have been larger and often stars are more attracted to such roles as they can see the money is obviously to their advantage.
They promoted the film by using ‘taglines,’ posters and a trailer to good effect.