Slap review

Slap is a short film made in 2015 and was directed by Nick Rowland. It is about a boy who feels comfortable wearing makeup but he hides it from his friends and family. He grows up in an area of England where it seems as though being like him is not very well accepted, especially since he is involved in the very typically masculine activity of boxing and his father seems to be very into this. One day he puts the makeup and dress on but his friend is getting chased because he is gay and Connor feels that he has to do something about it. He fights the homophobic guys and they and the friend see that he is in makeup and a dress, so he has no choice but to reveal himself to his friend. The friend, although surprised, seems fairly accepting of everything and he tries to understand what Connor has been going through. He goes to a fancy dress party, and decides to go to it in his dress and the makeup that he has been practicing. His friends all think it's a bit strange, and when his friend tries to kiss him in the bathroom he ends up being outed to all of the people at the party. His girlfriend reacts really badly and starts shouting. It ends without a resolution, and we don't know what happens after he starts boxing again - all we know is that he is angry and probably very upset.

The genre of this film was labelled as coming of age, but a genre that might fit it better would be social realism. It had a gritty feel to it that made it seem quite realistic in terms of mis en scene and the films general atmosphere. The costumes and sets also made the film seem quite realistic, with the characters wearing everyday clothes and living in fairly average looking houses, seeming to be from a working class background. A lot of the camera work in this film was hand held, creating a closer and more intimate relationship with the characters, and again giving it the realistic feel. A lot of the sound was diegetic, without much music to take away from the action onscreen and take away the sense of realism. The acting also played a huge part in this film, because the subject matter was quite striking and could be seen as controversial.

If I was going to take any element of this film into my own work, it would probably be the idea of addressing a certain topic that deals with social issues, or problems that teenagers face. I also enjoyed the realism in this film and might take this into my own work.