Over Review

Over is a film made in 2015 and was directed by Jorn Threlfall. It was a true crime drama about a man who fell out of a plane trying to immigrate to England. However, the narrative is shown backwards, so the last thing we see is the climax of the story, which actually takes place at the beginning. We begin by being shown an empty street at night, which is very quiet and deserted.  It looks completely tranquil, as though nothing of note has happened there in a while. As the film goes on, we are taken through the day that has previously happened, being shown the same street at different times. We soon start to realise that something really has happened there, but as an audience menever we just don’t know what that thing is. Instead, we get clues as to what has happened, for instance, we see some flowers have been laid to show that someone has died and we see some evidence bags of clothes, gloves and a torch. This keeps the audience guessing about the crime that was actually committed. At a later point in the film, but an earlier point in the day, we see police involvement, but still are not told exactly what happened, keeping a viewer engaged with the plot and this one event that has happened.

When the final event does happen and a man falls from the sky, it is so quick and so sudden that it has a huge impact for a moment, giving the audience a huge shock. However, since the street is so quiet and empty, and no one has woken up yet, it feels almost anticlimactic, since it was so quick and if you blinked you would have missed it. This emphasises the title and the horror of the situation - the man’s life is over so quickly, and nothing else happens. No one even knows. This makes it even more somber and moving for the audience when we find out that it is a true story.

The Mis en scene used is very realistic and relatable, since you could imagine this street in your own life being anywhere, which again makes the event that happened even more shocking. Many wide shots are used, which distance you slightly from the scene. It is as if you are really there, watching this scene play out from a distance. The editing is also very slow, with barely any cuts being made apart from a new time of day being revealed.

I might use the elements of realism that this film used in my own work, and try to replicate and mundane everyday life to create a more relatable atmosphere for an audience. I might also take elements from how the film was structured, using timings to play a part in the narrative.