Into The Woods

Warning

*This post contains some mild spoilers* 

Into The Woods is all about the journey, its not about the start or the end, its about that tricky bit in the middle, its "the climb", "the journey" or in this case, The Woods. A place full of darkness and mystery, it is the tunnel through which the light at the end shines through, where reality is warped and all is not as it seems.

Better than Frozen. Unlike Frozen Into The Woods maintains many of the traditional Disney conventions we all know and love. We see many of the conventions associated with the older Disney classics whilst entwining the Disnified narrative with elements from the original tales, an unusual convention that I really enjoyed, particularly where the dark and twisted original tale of in Rapunzel was included. Frozen was dubbed Disney's answer to feminism, however I personally feel Into The Woods is far more worthy of the title. For a start, in this production no character is perfect. Frozen portrays a style of female favouritism that causes the male characters to be conveyed as either, selfish liars, evil, or "ugly". In Into The Woods' every character has flaws, not superficial appearance based flaws or unlovable flaws like being "pure evil". The greatest example of this has to be the bakers wife, whom the viewer grows to love despite her flaws and even when she makes, what would in other Disney films be an unforgivable mistake, the viewer is still able to forgive her, echoing the reality of life not being black or white.

This is another thing that makes the production so relatable, despite the characters flaws you cannot help but love them, its not as black and white as most Disney films. Even the oh so modern Frozen, had its prejudices, when during the films climax the audience discovers Hanz has alternator motives, you instantly see him as the bad guy, forget the charm that we loved at the start and dismiss him as the villain. The characters are so much more three dimensional, everyone, male or female is a lovable bundle of flaws stitched together with good intentions.

One character especially flawed is the wolf but you really cannot help but love him. The humanisation of the wolf is such an important part of this film. This classic villain is reinvented as the charming yet manipulative stranger lurking in The Woods. Any viewer would be lying if they said they didn't get chills when they first heard Johnny Dept sing Hello Little Girl. It teaches the younger viewers that the "bad guy" is not always the monster that you imagine, he can be the charmer, the manipulator who lures you in before revealing his true colours. A poignant lyric in Little Red's song I Know Things Now reads "take extra care with strangers, even flowers have their dangers, and though scary is exciting, nice is different than good" this once again reinforces the fact that things are not always as they seem, especially when seen in the shadow of The Woods.

Visually Into The Woods is simply enchanting , it is not overly exquisite with lavish sets and props, it has that "quaint theater feel" to it, feeling more like a "proper musical" than a high budget Disney film. Every detail down to the the lighting and the set is perfect creating this gorgeous hybrid of film and theater. 

One vital area of the production that worked beautifully was the costume department. Colleen Atwood's designs are utterly gorgeous and you wouldn't expect any less from the iconic costume designer who has worked on costumes for productions such as Alice in Wonderland, Sweeny Todd and Snow White And The Huntsman. Its Oscar nomination for the productions costumes is not a surprise and is very much deserved. Reinventing many of the iconic costumes including Cinderella's dress into a golden ensemble, this worked stunningly, allowing the viewers to not form too many comparisons between the characters previous representations in the Disney animations.

Alongside the many established names were the two young budding stars Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone (whom you may recognise from Les Miserables) who fit perfectly into the star studded cast and there lack of experience was not evident despite this being Lilla's first ever film and only Daniel's second. I am sure that these two will soon be household names and will continue to thrive in the musical industry.

I am the kind of viewer who gets utterly addicted to a production, I cannot simply watch a film, love it, walk away and get on with my life. I will listen to the soundtrack on repeat, fall in love with the characters and obsessively re-blog gifs of my favorite scenes on tumblr. I would expect nothing less from a musical than a haunting and addictive soundtrack, one that has succeeded on keeping me hooked ever since I watched the film. 

The depth of the woods will pull you in to its murky shadows, the leaving you both haunted and enchanted.  

An Investigation Into:

The Representation Of Social Class And Gender In The Riot Club

My primary reason behind viewing The Riot Club was due to my current adoration of Max Irons, an actor whom in recent months, since the BBC's rendition of The White Queen, I have grown to be a large fan of. Another reason was simply due to the juxtaposing thoughts created by the trailer, which meant I went into the cinema not knowing if I were to hate the film or adore it.

This post is a brief analysis of The Riot Club, NOT A REVIEW, do not read on if you have not yet, but intend to, watch the film.

You are forgiven if at first glance you misinterpreted the genre of this film entirely, the posters use of feminine pastel hues and bold pink text may be seen to misconvey the film as a male rendition of St Trinians, the posed nature of the subjects seems to distract the viewer from the clear-cut violent nature of the film and focus more on the appearance and apparel of the male oriented cast.

The trailer only begins to highlight the gritty, thriller side to the film about half way through,luring the viewer into a false sense of security. The first half of the trailer appears to focus on the dry humorous parts of the film (of which there are only a few) before it reaches its climax and begins to discuss the darker side. It is only when we get half way into the trailer itself that we realise the film airs more towards thriller and social realism, than drama and comedy. I feel like the promotional package for this film dismisses a large part of its demographic as it does not highlight the complexity of the film, and therefore may bring in a less intelligent audience than needed to appreciate the film.

It is evident, even from the poster, that Iron's character Miles has a more disconnected relationship to the club than the other characters, as portrayed by this lack of eye contact with the camera, He appears less domineering than the other characters, however his posture and costume still evoke a sense of power and class, rather than the intimidation conveyed by other two subjects as they look down on the viewer.

The film is fueled by feminist and class based ideologies. Unfair hierarchies and lack of equality form the basis of the plot and the overall film has a revolutionist themed undertone, whereby the upperclass create their own demise by flaunting their lavish lifestyles and spoilt behavior

Conventional to social realism, each of the characters are flawed. No character is portrayed as being perfect. The female characters at first glance appear more flawed than the male characters, as their lives not as privileged that of the protagonists. However when looking at the characters on a three intentional level we begin to realise that the lives of The Riot Club members are not that desirable, they are spoilt, ignorant, and blinded by wealth. The female characters on the other hand are conveyed as independent, hard working individuals who believe in their own self worth and standards.

Female protagnist, Lauren (played by Holliday Grainger) portrays a strength and resilience that the male oriented cast lacks. Unlike the bulk of the characters, Lauren comes from a working class background, a fact that is mocked by the other characters throughout the film. At the films dramatic climax Lauren is sexually harassed by members of The Riot Club, in a particularly hard hitting scene. She arrives at a Riot Club meeting to find the members drunken and frustrated as they had just been refused by an escort, she is then offered large sums of money to perform sexual acts on them. We see Lauren begin to panic, and look to Miles for help, however in his drunken and bewildered state, he appears weak in his morals and does not argue for the sake of her dignity.

Charlie (The female escort portrayed by Natalie Dormer) also shows evidence of strength and standards by refusing to give in to The Riot Clubs requests and subverting the viewers expectations of her character, the viewer begins to sympathise with a character whom in most films they are taught to despise. Both she and Lauren are bribed with large amounts of money to perform sexual acts, but refuse them, reinforcing the strength of the female role in the film.

Wide camera angles of the club members are used in juxtaposition to extreme close ups of the girls to show the unfair ratio of men to women, as the women appear separately and outnumbered by The Riot Club members, this not only reinforces the vulnerability of the female characters but highlights their inevitable strength as they come out of the events of the film stronger despite the odds being against them they remain unmoved by the wealth and dominance of The Riot Club.

Although the negative representation of the male upper class may be bias, it is a clear reflection of the current social unrest as seen in the 2011 London riots. And whilst some may appear to be more likable than others (Ie. Miles) their weaknesses are evident and lead to the outcome of the film. This film displays a clear negative attitude to the hierarchical system in the UK.

It is easy to draw parallels between The Riot Club, and This Is England, the two films are dominated by working class ideologies, however focus on opposite ends of the spectrum. This Is England focuses more on racial issues than class, however it tells a story from the perspective of a group of working class individuals who appear displeased by their placement in the hierarchical system and oppose the upper class. The Riot Club on the other hand tells a story from the upper class perspective, despite this the viewer is still on the side of the working class, as the views held by the characters are not the same as the ideologies portrayed by the film.