A Very British Gangster Analysis

A very British gangster

From the opening sequence we see a very gloom and dark setting, the establishing shot of Manchester shows us the area in which we are going to ‘learn’ about. We then see the name of a company ‘Dare Films’ in association with another company ‘five’ and director ‘Donal MacIntyre’ in a white text.  A train passes by and we hear diegetic sound from the train. Then there is a sound bridge of a male from Manchester talking, the frame then cuts to shot of three males in area almost filling the screen with Manchester in the background, this could imply that they have power over Manchester as they are bigger than them in the shot. The man in the middle is slightly closer to the screen and looking directly into the camera this again shows his power over the two males to his left and right. The two men to his left and right are smoking this is a ‘cool’ thing to do as they look away.

We then see the title ‘A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER’ in a text next to a bridge in a graffiti style, the low angle shot with the three men walking down the street again seems to give them power over the street as they are higher, the men walk with a sort of swagger in suits. We then see titles of the producers as the three men slowly walk to towards the city of Manchester. The titles then follow with the name of the dubbing mixer, associate producers and film editor. Whilst these titles are shown the three men are again in the shot walking down the street with a car behind them but they do not move, the headlights from the car give the men a sort of spotlight. However with the spotlight the men are still blurred and you cannot see them properly; this could be to the fact that they are gang and are always being watched but never caught. Slow motion is used throughout these shots.

We then see a CCTV shot of a gang of 6 men in suits walking up some stairs again showing that they are always being watched. The next shot is the gang leader looking over a club implying he has power over everyone. The next shot is a close up on a males hands the nails are dirty and he has a lot of gold on his wrists and fingers. We then see an extreme close up of the gang leader’s face in an undercover sort of interview; he explains the crime that he has committed. 

By Jordan Weir