DIRECTIONS: Research Into Similar Films

As I am recreating a scene after a break-up, I thought it would be best to look at films and TV programmes which have a huge break up in them to see the emotion the characters go through and the way the director deals with the situation. Initially, I thought of Ross and Rachel in Friends, Notting Hill, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (1)

Friends

(2)

In the episode named The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break, the on/off relationship between Ross and Rachel takes a turn for the worse when they have an argument and Rachel says "maybe we should just take a break", which then became a famous line from the sitcom. Ross storms out and goes to a bar with Chandler and Joey, he meets a girl he knows, kisses her and goes back home and sleeps with her. Meanwhile, Rachel is sat at home calling him and waiting for him to phone her back. The director of this episode of Friends is James Burrows and he sets up a sad storyline for Rachel when she thinks Ross and herself have broken up. Time goes slow for her waiting for Ross to ring and she comfort eats while staring out the window. 

(7)

Notting Hill

(3)

In Notting Hill, Anna (Julia Roberts) is a famous actress and she meets William (Hugh Grant). They go on a date together and he takes her back to her flat, where William finds Anna's boyfriend, a famous actor. Even though they are only together for the media, William breaks it off and the actress and actor carry on their relationship for the press and fly away together for another film. Notting Hill's director is Roger Michell and he handles the break up similarly to New Moon by making the time pass while they're not together. He does this by having William walk through a market and while he is walking the weather changes around him. He'll be walking through leaves and battling the wind and then in the next second its snowing.

(6)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

(4)

Peter and Sarah break-up so Peter takes the advice from his friend in order to deal with the break-up by going on a Hawaiian holiday. However, Sarah is travelling to the same resort as him but with her new boyfriend (5). Nicholas Stoller directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall and his view was slightly different, being a comedy film, to the other two directors I spoke about in this post. A comedy approach isn't really the path I wanted to go down but it was interesting to look into the way Stoller decided that the character should just carry on with life and go on a summer holiday whereas the other two films we more serious and the characters took the time to contemplate their lives without the other person - which is more what I'm thinking my film should be like. 

(1) http://screenrant.com/best-post-breakup-movies-ever-all-time/?view=all
(2) http://www.hercampus.com/school/st-edwards/sixteen-most-memorable-ross-and-rachel-moments-friends
(3) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3591310/Hugh-Grant-returns-Notting-Hill-buys-10m-house-mother-two-children-street-filmed-classic-romcom.html
(4) http://www.tvguide.co.uk/searchfilm.asp?title=Forgetting%20Sarah%20Marshall
(5) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800039/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
(6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6hmUK2xL_Q
(7) http://www.justforlaughschicago.com/stories/story/0,,68922,00.html