Ill Manors (2012) Case Study

Ill Manors distributed in 2012 is a Social Realism film directed by Ben Drew and produced by Atif Ghani. The film focuses on eight protagonist characters and their journey struggling to survive in the streets. It also features 6 songs from plan B which is a form of star marketing which could attract Plan B fans to watch the film. Each story weaves into one another, painting a hyper-real gritty picture of the world.

The film also follows the stereotypical codes and conventions of a social realism film in terms of the mise-en-scene, narrative, low production values and the use of a male protagonists. The setting of the film is based around a council estate in forest gate which shows that the characters are from a low demographic class of D & E audiences. With the low film budget of only £100,000 the film was limited to a release of 191 cinemas in both Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. That budget range and limited film distribution is very typical of a social realism film as the film is targeted at people that can relate to it.

Camera Shots and Lighting

The usages of close up shots were effective because as it enables the audience to clearly identify the facial expressions of the characters which connote their emotions and represent what they are going through. Close up shots help to engage the audience to the movie and make them have a connection with the characters and have a sense of how their feeling, when it comes to social realism movies the most common theme is pain which results in a sympathetic audience. 

Tracking shots wee also used which give the imagery of the poverty which follows the male protagonists.

Another noticeable aspect of the film was the handheld camera work. Handheld camera work is very common in low budget social realism films. The Handheld camera work was very obvious as it was not as stylised as a big budget movie, the slightly shaky camera could have been due to hand fatigue which is completely natural in handheld camera work.

The lighting throughout the film is mostly dim bright so that the characters could still be seen, but also keep the scenes mysterious as the characters are up to something bad such as drug use. The dark and dull colour pallets may have been used to connote the characters struggle and the pain there going through, and also poor lighting are often used in low budget social realism films.

Completed by Sean Okpa

Edited by Abena Amoako