Production: Ed Guiney
Distribution: Renaissance Films
Genre: Crime/Romance Drama
Director: Kirsten Sheridan and Enda Walsh
Synopsis: Inseperable Pig (Cillian Murphy) and Runt (Elaine Cassidy), born on the same day, in the same hospital, moments apart classify themselves as twins, all but by bloodline. They come as one package, needing no one but eachother as they inhabit a delicate, insular and dangerous world where they make their own rules and have their own language. But days before their 17th birthday the balance of their world begins to shift. Pig's sexual awakening and jealousy begins to threaten their private universe.
DVD: This DVD cover does not follow the conventional format, clearly demonstrated by the billing block that is on the front, and the age certificate in an unusual place. This undoubtedly creates a messy, cluttered look, but perhaps this was the intention. The narrative is about things being unconventional, the absurdities in life are explored and this is emphasised by the teenagers; their conflicts are expressed via the fact their emotions clearly control them as the stills used on the cover either side of the intimate moment are a manifestation of the ideology that teenagers are sensitive and out of control. The way we recognise this is done through archetyping emotions based on gender, such as the male (Murphy) being aggrivated and projective, whereas the woman (Cassidy) seems pleading and emotionally distraught, the light used for the poster emphasising the tears in her eyes that threaten to spill. This portrays teenagers in a conventional way, perhaps so that they are more relatable or familiar to the audience.
The colour red, an obvious connotation of love and passion, is combined with purple, a secondary colour and perhaps a Semantic code for affluence, which is ironic because this film takes on societal issues of the working class, so this irony perhaps implies that this film will be quite satirical. However, it can also be representitive of feminity, whereas the red may be seen as masculine. This is significant as the purple proclaims authority of the page, alluding to the fact that the woman in the movie is really the protagonist, albeit a focus on Murphy's character.
The reviews given are from those that are not excessively reputable, and are quite indie and buried. This can be a Semantic Code that this will not be a high-production value film with a big budget, but it will be cherished amongst a smaller, niche audience that enjoy these type of kitchen sink, obscure dramas.
The bold, yellow font shows the erraticism of teenage life, and the red encapsulating around it may also be a Symbolic code of how youth feel entrenched and trapped in their lives that have been pre-determined due to their socio-economic class. From a class point of view, the poster is neither elegant nor subtle, it takes on the manifestation of archetypical working class people, ie. aggressive, 'make-do', unorganised, unattractive yet attention-seeking.
The small 'uncut' text next to a review acts as a slight reward for paying so much attention to the poster and reading it thoroughly, but it also acts as a bigger reward to watch things such as the special features when the DVD is purchased...this is because the participatory culture of being a Prosumer is celebrated.
Russian Poster:
This poster, rather than hone in on the plights of Irish working class citizens, focalises the universally understood theme of love. However, this appears to be an unconventional romance movie due to the dark tones and synthetic-esque colours; this hints to the audience it is a modern, perhaps obscure love story that veers away from a recognisable, familiar relationship. This alludes to an audience that is perhaps an Explorer as they may want to challenge the conventions of an overly repeticious depiction of teenage relationships.
The actors names are included, and whilst those USP points wouldn't necessarily mean much to a Russian or global audience at the time this movie came out (2001), it adds a sense of prestige, as if they are national treasures of importance to other cultures, which it why a global audience should take an interest in them.
The dark surrounding the characters seems very enigmatic (Enigma Codes), and perhaps references the uncertainty of their relationship, which creates tension and drama that is understood by anybody. This veers away from the conventional as though most romantic posters seem to emphasise the fact they will end up together in the end regardless, this ambiguity created by the darkness seems to contradict this, as if to purposefully allude to a worldwide audience that this isn't a regular romance film, there will be some dark twists that are inappropriate for some certain audiences; the age rating isnt too high, as not to limit audiences either further as this is a low-budget film (this links in with the Curran and Seaton Power Without Responsibility argument, which can also reference the film's independence from conglomerates which means lack of financial supprt but it is not limited creatively) so it needs all the reveue it can get, but the age rating is also a deterrence fror younger audiences accessing the content out of context, thusforth preventing the disadvantageous effects of the Bandura Theory. This is particularly a danger as the poster makes it clear that this movie is realistic (due to the actual photography), and henceforth the actions and motives in the movie are fairly replicable.
UK/Irish Poster:
This poster encapsulated the crime and drama element much more than the romantic feel, though the audience may jump to conclusions through the Cultivation and Genre theories that their relationship (an Enigma Code) is a romantic one. The dark background that sweeps across parts of the character's faces seems gritty and projects the ideology that this will be a social-realist movie that tackles the issues of society that are more serious, pressing, infectious and dark. This may attract teenagers who feel they can relate to the characters that are of a similar class stance as themselves (C1?C2DE), or older audiences that may be nostalgic about their own teenager years, or just have a general interest in dark dramas.
The light thatshined into Cillian Murphy's eye make it seem like he has an odd appearance, perhaps acting as a Semantic Code for his erratic jealousy and sporadic emotional outbursts in the movie. A noteworthy mention is also how the font seems modern yet simplistic (there is, much like the characters, a raw naivety about it), an insight into the development of technology and how this impacts youth; the young couple feel like it is growing up that is driving them apart, when really it is their prospective futures (Cassidy's character relies on technological advancements for a career, whereas Murphy's denies this as he wants everything to stay the same) . This conflict (the Binary Opposition would be traditionalism and technology) can be conveyed through the text used, particularly through the 'i' in both words, representative of how Cassidy's character is breaking away from the predetermined life for her, whereas Murphy's character does not know how to deal with anything than what he has already seen, and this is particularly relatable for British audiences
Comments