Skip to main content

Gasman - the Importance of Trust between Characters

Gasman is a short film made in 1998 by Lynne Ramsay about a man who lives two lives. The film is shown mainly through the eyes of his daughter, in an innocent but hard-hitting way.
It's the Christmas season. With her mom's help, Lynne, a girl of perhaps eight, dresses up; her younger brother Steven plays with a toy car. The children leave with their dad, who's affectionate with them. They walk down a railroad track where an unkempt woman waits with two children, about the same age as Lynne and Steven. The children go with them. They're all headed to a holiday party at a pub. Lynne notices that the girl acts all too familiar with her dad. What's going on?
 Plot Summary - IMDB
The film has an observant feel to it, like the camera itself is a 'third person' watching the plot unfold - sometimes from a distance and other times up close. The camera is mostly hand-held, free in a documentary style. It seems that the camera was left rolling as the characters in the story play out the scenes. In fact, it is all quite natural, in that the characters are completely believable.


Lynne Ramsay wrote the script for the film, but it's like the script was simply the foundation for the film and the rest was down to innovation and individual interpretation. The characters blend so well together, their reactions and words so realistic, that you almost forget that you are watching a film.

You can watch the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6mwS6NVZWc

The relationships between the actors come across as strong on camera, their trust in each other resulting in a cast that could perhaps be related in real life. 

The beginning scenes in the family home bring a real-life feel to the film, the tension between the parents and the children extremely realistic. On the railway new characters are introduced, and the relationships that build between the existing characters and the new are quite natural, particularly in the way that the children befriend each other. Inside the pub, the atmosphere is one of chaos and yet complete normality. The events that unfold within that location show the fragile relationship between the two little girls, and how easily jealousy can ruin a friendship.

Gasman shows how the trust between the actors/actresses in a film is vital to creating a believable storyline. If the cast does not trust one other, and their relationships are not real, then the storyline will crumble, and the film will ultimately become less successful.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DRAMA REVIEW: STRANGER THINGS (S1)

If you haven't heard of ' Stranger Things' by now you must have been in the Upside Down with no wifi signal to tune into Netflix. One year ago the world was plunged into an epic 80's sci-fi thriller world where Dungeons and Dragons, VHS cassettes and BMX bikes were all the rage, and now, with the eruption of Season 2 hitting our tv and mobile screens, it seems fitting to look back on where this journey began... Since the late 1890's the imaginations of people all around the globe have been fascinated by the possibility of life on other planets and visitors from outer space. Thanks to the great early science-fiction authors such as H.G. Wells and John Wyndham, the books ' War of the Worlds ' and ' The Crysalids ' taught us that the scientifically impossible could be found perhaps not only amongst the stars, but amongst ourselves. From then on humanity looked upwards, wondering, researching, hypothesising about things that should be left untouched.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES: REVIEW

It's been nearly 50 years since the Planet of the Apes franchise first started, and although making sequels and prequels appears to be the norm nowadays, the prequel trilogy starring Andy Serkis in the role of Caesar may prove to be one of the most popular and successful reboots to date. Despite finally coming to the end of a brilliant new trilogy that tells the story of how the Planet of the Apes came to be, the third installment did in no way disappoint. War for the Planet of the Apes delivers an emotionally driven story that is accompanied by stunning cinematography, incredibly technical visual effects and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack composed by the amazing Michael Giacchino. Directed and co-written by Matt Reeves, the film delivers what everyone has been waiting for: the final battle between Apes and Humans. Having survived a disease that wiped out the majority of humankind in Rise of the Planet of the Apes , the remaining survivors are faced with a choice: to sp

Writer's Block - Part 1

How it all started... Last year my sister wrote a 1000 word short story for the BBC Young Writer's competition. Meanwhile in university the current assignment was to create a short narrative film. At the time I was thinking of creating a half stop-motion animated short, and when I read my sister's story I found great potential. We then collaborated and created a script based on her original piece. In the interview below she talks about her inspirations and how she came up with the idea: Q1: How did you come up with the idea for Writer's Block? A1: Coming up with Writer’s Block was a funny process really. I was trying to come up with a story for a writing contest and nothing I came up with was good enough. I said to my mom I had writer’s block and being the sarcastic lady that she is she said to me "I've never been there, what's it like?" And I thought: ‘What if the Writer’s Block was a place!’ Q2: Were there any other novels, artworks