CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: 500 Word Television Review

National Treasure, Marc Munden, September 20, 2016

National Treasure is the television programme that I have chosen for my review. It was directed by Marc Munden and written by Jack Thorne. Marc was an assistant to other directors before he started directing documentaries for television himself. National Treasure is a four-part British television drama on Channel Four about a fictional TV personality who has been accused of historical rape, played by Robbie Coltrane. It is a modern drama and is set in ‘our’ time and includes people such as Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris who, in the last few years, have been in the limelight for the same crime.
During this review, I will highlight the mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound, along with expressionism and realism.

Mise en scène has four elements which are, setting, lighting, costume/make-up and staging. The show is set in the present day. I thought this was clever because not many shows are set so modern as if they could have happened last month, which I believe this could have. Mentioning Saville and Harris really brought to light how up-to-date the programme is because their stories have come into the media in just the past couple of years. The lighting is intriguing, virtually every scene is shot in low light. This brings an eerie atmosphere to the programme, this idea is first shown at the beginning when Coltrane is waiting outside in a dark alley, we immediately get the sense that there is an underlying darkness to the show. I also think the low light could reflects the dark storyline The costume/make-up is relatively normal, everyday clothes and makeup. Again, it is dark and dull clothing, or is it that the low light makes it seem this way. The staging looks relatively normal; it would have been pre-determined by the director to look ‘natural’ because the programme is about someone’s life, which would need to look as if it was in the real world.

The cinematography is impressive with the range of shots they use, from wide shots so the viewer can see where they are to the extreme close up to show the emotion in their faces of how the situation is hurting the characters. One shot that comes to mind is when Coltrane, his wife and daughter are leaving the court the camera is slightly angled upwards towards them. This suggests the power they have as a family and how they believe that nothing will break them apart. When he is starting to break later on there are shots which look down on him showing him losing his power, possibly making us feel sorry for him. They do a few close ups to Coltrane and his family especially in when they are in court which could suggest the isolation they each feel. Right now everyone else will be judging them as they do not know the truth, making the family and Coltrane feel like no one wants to be around them.

They use a few interesting cuts in National Treasure such as the shots at the very beginning when Coltrane accepts his award at the ceremony and starts his speech, we see the back of Coltrane for a while until they cut to the front of him so we can see his face. The visual and sound design are some of the things which give National Treasure its dark presence and the non-diegetic sound and camera angles indicate more than what the images suggest. The music and sound drift in and out unlike a typical TV drama but they handle this well as the makers understand it is not just about the characters involved but a historic moment. I think Coltrane’s acting is brilliant and the show really brings to light the importance of such a horrific crime.

The show also explores the theory of expressionism, where we see the inner world of emotion rather than external reality. Thorne manages to bring out the emotion in Coltrane’s character by the atmosphere around him, even though he puts on a brave face to everyone else. Realism is another as Thorne doesn’t avoid the similarity between Coltrane’s character and the likes of Rolf Harris and Jimmy Savile who had been accused, he just shows how it would have been handled in real-life and what we see is the scary truth.

References:

-       - The University of Akron. (2002). Critical Film Review Guidelines. Available: http://www3.uakron.edu/worldciv/china/filmrev.html. Last accessed 25th Nov 2016.

-       - UNSW Sydney. (2014). Structure of a Critical Review. Available: https://student.unsw.edu.au/structure-critical-review. Last accessed 12th Nov 2016.

-       - IMDb. (1990). Marc Munden. Available: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0612720/. Last accessed 25th Nov 2016.

-       - Travis, B. (2016). National Treasure, Channel 4: six things you need to know about Robbie Coltrane's sex abuse drama. Available: http://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/tvfilm/national-treasure-channel-4-six-things-you-need-to-know-about-robbie-coltranes-sex-abuse-drama-a3349596.html. Last accessed 25th Nov 2016.

-       - All 4. (2016). National Treasure. Available: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/national-treasure. Last accessed 30th Nov 2016.

-       - Walker, D. (2016). National Treasure verdict brings viewers to tears as fans hail the Channel 4 drama a "masterpiece". Available: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/national-treasure-verdict-brings-viewers-9026876. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2016.

-       - Jeffery, M. (2016). National Treasure review: bring on the BAFTAs for Channel 4's dark and gripping drama. Available: http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/review/a808528/national-treasure-review-bring-on-the-baftas-for-channel-4s-dark-and-gripping-drama/. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2016.