Story-telling | Contextual Research: Up on the Roof (Short Film 2)

‘Up on the Roof’ is a short film, directed by Nour Wazzi, and written by Anthony Attah, following the story of a troubled boy as tries to escape from some unpleasant characters which is complicated by the girl he is pining for.  The film brings about themes of social realism, love, and the loss of innocence – I am particularly interested in how Wazzi depicts the social realism aspects in the film, as this is something I would like to transfer to my own film.

The opening dialogue between the protagonist, Marcus, and his love interest, Trish, gives the impression that they act older than they both are, almost like an old married couple, with Trish asking Marcus for money, as couples on a shared income are more likely to do.  It is clear that Trish is a few years older than Marcus, but they both still seem as if they are older than they physically are.  We are reminded of Marcus’ innocence when Trish asks him whether he has had a girlfriend, and he replies in an arrogant and typically childish, but also comical manner, acting as if he is older than he is, and we see this again when he claims he will not let Darren “beat [him] to the ground”, when Darren is older and larger.

Wazzi switches between mid/close-up shots and wider shots fairly frequently, and also plays around with using the lens to focus on different characters in dialogue rather than switching between shots.  The close-ups give us a sense of intimacy with the characters, whilst the wider shots reinforce the location – this also puts emphasis on the poor conditions that these characters are living in.  We also see some use of Dutch tilt, which creates some tension as Marcus is running, and foreshadows Darren and the gang attacking him.

The attack itself is quite visceral and Wazzi does not hold back in showing the punches and the blood that is drawn from Marcus.  This encounter felt very real in the way the violence was portrayed, and this is something I feel I could draw from in the attack scene I am planning for my film.

The sound design in Up on the Roof works very well to provide the atmosphere to each scene.  The ambient background noises, like dogs barking and children playing give us the feeling that we are in this environment with these characters and allows us to empathise more with them as we are more aware of their surroundings.

Overall, I feel that Up on the Roof does not really come to a clear ending, which works in one sense in that the audience is left to choose what they want to happen – we only see Marcus walking down the track.  This could symbolise him regaining his childhood through curiosity, where he previously would rather have just eaten his food and got on with his day, yet this still seems a bit vague.  Therefore, I feel I would want to draw my film to a more conclusive end, rather than leaving it open, as I do not feel there is much of a payoff in Up on the Roof.  Nevertheless, the use of mid shots and wide shots to establish setting, class and character were certainly effective, which is something I want to transfer to my film, as well as the fitting sound design to create the feeling of social realism.