The Undertaker

I chose this film from the BBC film network because it seems odd and not a straight forward drama genre film.

The title is revealed instantly in this film, it is written in bold and is text is slightly set out in a straightline symbolising a flat surface like a coffin box which relates to the title, it comes on the screen like a statement; the soundtrack is slow and meaningful it gives the impression of loniness and isolation.

The opening scene reveals the main character straight away but only from a side view, the impression we get of him is tired and worn out, his clothing suggests a business environment apart from the title give away we are not told he is an undertaker until he begins to talk. He is not your typical undertaker he is not smartly dressed he seems to be quite scruffy, he has a deep accent and does not look directly at the camera this gives some mystery about him, he seems uncomfortable in his job this could suggest he’s lonely. He is using humour in a sad situation which indicates he is trying to make the subject lighter because he feels uncomfortable in his surrounding and he is dealing with a beautiful customer so he is trying to impress her, his character is very emotionless and doesn’t show facial expressions.

The lightening is natural light coming from the windows in the room which gives a dull grey tint on the camera; lots of shadows are used to create a tension about death and burying bodies.

The main character is not seen until after she finishes speaking, she is smartly dressed, well spoken and seemed quite embarrassed by her mother we can see this from her pushy attitude to make her mother leave, this also suggests she is independent and wants to handle the funeral on her own. The camera shots used in the conversation between male and female are point of view/perspective shots this shows us their reaction to each other this helps the audience understand how they feel about one another. The film follows the undertaker on his daily routine this genre turns to documentary, a slow soundtrack is played to give the audience the impression it is a lonely job, the camera zooms out for a wide shot of him at work to show he is the only person who works there it pauses slightly to allow us to see he is isolated.
He invites the woman to mortuary to show her; her father body.
His living quarters are above the mortuary this suggests he’s trapped; he can never escape his job because he’s always involved in it. When a noise is herd downstairs he doesn’t want to go downstairs, this suggests his life is lonely and he is scared of his surroundings, his bedroom is dark and gloomy with heavy metal posters and CDs this indicates he’s a weird character and doesn’t seem to have any friends.

He only goes downstairs when the woman suggests they do, this shows a coward side of him and shows how vulnerable he is in his own setting. The film ends with her fathers body missing from the coffin this is quirky ending to a drama genre it adds supernatural features it ends quickly which symbolises death.