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Essex Boys: How does the director use British locations and colour to establish menace

Establishing locations can be useful to introduce the audience into de film and help them dive into it's tone and style . Terry Winson set Essex Boys into a urban,dark and profane city of Britain when occurs the plot .A brilliant example of setting the menace within locations is in this shot:

The darkness inundate the garage bringing shadows and confusion everywhere setting the tension and the fear to the scene.A chiaroscuro lighting illuminates barely the isolated place letting see a rusty car and a cage.The cage makes the audience think of rape which increase the feeling of danger and claustrophobia while dirtiness and oldness emphasizes an uncomfortable mood .The week light surrounded by shadows could be a metaphor of the shortage of pureness.

The limited palate colour shows a predominant black connoting the sense of madness and isolation, a cold and artificial white contrast with it exaggerating the desaturated difference between the tones.

Being this the first shot of the film suits perfectly for a thriller,it's dark beginning foreshadow the tragic circumstances are about to happen and introduce the audience deeply to the tone of the movie. 

Another example where locations are cleverly established is in this shot. The overwhelming emptiness of the view could be a metaphor of the absence of conciousness of the character.

Road parallels lines taper towards the vanishing point, which captures the viewer's visual attention and brings the feeling of infinite continuity.

The devastating scene is contrasted by the palete colour of nudes greys and browns. All this enforces the isolated soul of the character, where the devastation is everywhere and you cannot scape.

Characters, costumes and props

We present Jessica Harvey (renamed Natasha), a young adult about 20 years which her happiness is imprisoned by her deepest fear, something in her past awakens the worst of it, thus breaking his soul and mind.

The cause of the situation is due to the death of his father, a character who works in dark secrets government affairs, Natasha's father fakes his own death in order to protect his daughter from the clutches of his pursuers, trying so her to live a peaceful and safe life.

Because of this, our character is lonely and isolated from any human contact and drowns her life in a routine of immense painful memories and thoughts.But deep inside her, she refuses to believe that her father is dead.

All this stress will be reflected in the beginning of our thriller, whose opening will be cold and intense, and dramatizing the background of the character.Natasha wears a tight black dress which is a nod to his past life where glamor and style used to be part of your outfit every day.But much further from reality, the dress is not elegant as the character tries to be. Against the cold wearing a sweatshirt old and worn the same dress color that contrasts strongly with the styles, denoting the tornado of feelings in him. At the same time, the sweatshirt builds a metaphor of history that leads back to the dark past and follows her around everywhere without let her go.

Their old and battered red high heels stand out compared to the black clothes of our heroine.Inspired by movies like 'Sin City' where women in feeding the clip wearing a deep red color that symbolizes danger. We wanted to add this little nuance to the character of Natasha convey to the viewer in its broken shell is a strong force will no fear of being revealed.

She applied what we could say that is cheap makeup and put imitation pearl earrings, as we see an attempt to still look 'wealthy' and continue to have the same lifestyle that she used to have, is unceasing.All this leads to the intuition that she used to live a life of luxury and now she is the harsh reality, with economic problems and underpaid work that the aid to afford all the clothes she used to have. The memories of his old life influence your present self and refuses to let go.

The only thing of value that she owns is an old pocket watch which is in perfect condition. This small shiny silver object accompanies her everywhere, it is its charm, all that remains of her father.This small relic helps provide a sense of mystery and contrasts dramatically with other objects owned by Natasha, leading the audience has wonder who has that object, which mean to her, what purpose has this object in the movie and that is in such good condition.


The Detective

This character will not bathe with the same importance as the main character.


Her function is to infiltrate databases and find the darkest secrets to sell them later for cash to stakeholders of this information.


We found a person without scruples or moral that prefers to be left out in terms of conflict, it is just one intermediary of information which is very strict in terms of safety and punctuality. She plays her life in exchange for a hefty amount of money. Shehas the ability to sneak into any situation that's presented to her and always leaves her feelings aside.

She is distinguished by her own clothes of a detective,sunglasses to hide his true identity, immaculately made hair, stylish clothes and set of black and white. Heels that distinguish a more glamorous form and scrupulously  and finally the famous detective raincoat.

The Assasine

This character only appears in the thriller and he dispenses with any explanation by background or props.

He wears black and transmitting his lack of morality and for the audience to grasp his presence and creeping dark intentions.He is hidden from prying eyes while still waiting for the moment to Natsha and exact place to carry out his murder.

The killing shall be carried out by the pocket watch of the protagonist, thus making her greatest treasure into her most destruction.

Treatment

The film begins with the sound of a public toilet: Dripping taps, the muffled sound of traffic and the sound of heels on a damp floor. The first shot is of a small hand wearing damaged rings turning a grimy tap off. The camera then cuts to a shot showing the reflection of a rundown looking woman in a mirror. She proceeds to wash and apply make up in the public toilet. Following this there is a close up of her taking out a clean, well looked after pocket watch and checking the time. Shots then show her walking through urban areas such as in front of high rise flats and also the fast undeveloped locations. Ambient sound in the background (traffic, general public). She walks in to a café and a shot shows her sit down opposite a suited figure. After pro-longed eye contact the Woman slides the envelope across the table towards the protagonist. She stares at it for a moment, glancing back at the detective, snatching the envelope and leaving the café. Over the shoulder shot shows a figure who had been watching the transaction at a separate table, get up and follows the Protagonist. The Young woman is shown walking down a quiet alley, and opening up the envelope. Close up of the contents shows a name followed by an address. The camera then cuts to show the woman growing emotional. Suddenly, the man who had been watching the transaction takes the pocket watch from her pocket and strangles her with the chain. He drops her body on the ground, takes the envelope, drops the pocket watch and walks away. Final shot- Pocket watch on the ground.

Thriller opening mood board

Potential Locations

Story board