About A Girl (Brian Percival, 2001)

Narrative Structure

The film is about a teenage girl living in the North of England with dreams of becoming a popstar so that she can afford expensive things that her unemployed father and her lying mother are unable to provide for her. She talks about all her dreams to the camera and how she’s going to achieve these dreams before standing over a river and dropping a small plastic bag in. The film takes a truly harrowing turn of events when a small baby, still fresh with blood can be seen inside as she walks of singing.

Genre

This film would fit into the drama genre

Cinematography

The cinematography was often shaky whilst the picture appeared grainy, perhaps with the attempted effect of conveying a realistic look at her life and the dull and bleak surroundings of Manchester that reflect her own life.

Editing

The editing is really quite jarring, with rapid cuts that are intersected by her short monologues to camera as she walks along the riverside. The film uses flashbacks to relate to what she is saying, for example when she speaks about her dad wanting to play for Manchester City in the football, cutting to a shot of him conceding an easy goal which is followed by a cut back to her claiming “not”. These flashbacks allow the audience to become more aware of her background and sympathise with her as we see first hand the struggles that she has to put up with.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene is very subtle but is used to great effect which I believe to have different meaning for the audience on the first viewing compared to when they rewatch it. Whilst her surrounding appears dirty and distasteful, one of the most important objects is the perfume. When watching the first time, it appears that she is just a young teenager looking for fragrances to perhaps make herself feel that she is more appealing but after she disposes of her dead baby in the river it takes on a greater meaning. The perfume is to hide the smell of blood that might arouse suspicions from her mother, highlighting the distance she is from her family and the society around her.

Sound

There is no non-diegetic music present throughout the course of the film, with the only source of music coming from her singing and her earphones which repeats songs from one singer; Britney Spears. Its clear the film sets her up as an idol for the girl with some of her lyrics reflecting the girls own situation (which she acknowledges in part). Lyrics such as “I’m not that innocent” and “I’m dreaming away” have an impact on her thoughts and feelings and are influential to her aspirations.

Performance

Perhaps the strongest part of the film, Ashley Thewlis does an excellent job at engaging with the audience and expressing her desires to become the next big international popstar. Her sarcastic and often exaggerated tone make the audience pity her circumstances as she is clearly unhappy with her current life and yet the joy and happiness she expresses when with her friends and singing suggests a sense of a hopeless escape that keeps her going.

Meaning and Response

The films topic is a very dark one but a necessary one to tell. I have great admiration for the way it subtly foreshadowed the ending through the dialogue the girl speaks towards the camera and the several flashbacks that add relevant contextual knowledge for the audiences understanding of her life. The dialogue almost passes you by which therefore makes the audiences reaction at the end all the more shocking and immediately makes you want to re-watch and link all the pieces together.

Contexts of Film

Abortions in the UK in 2001 weren’t commonplace, with 3.7 out of 1000 women respectively under-16 going through an abortion but the fact of the matter is that the number was still higher than it should have been and could have dramatic impacts on the lives of those affected. These figures only count towards registered abortions also, with abortions done illegally not included which is what the teenage girl in the film has done. The film, whilst focusing on the impact of abortions in general on young girls, largely focuses on the impact of a young under age girl being forced to kill her baby in order to hide the truth from her own parents, something that the director clearly felt was an important subject matter that needed to be discussed.