NAME: SETH BEN EWUDZI

INDEX NUMBER: BFAMPP28001

INDIVIDUAL FILM REVIEW ANALYSIS

CAST: MILES

            ROY

            KENDRA

            CLARK

            LUCY

 FILM TITLE: LIGHT MY FIRE

DIRECTOR: BOBB BARITO

To start with, in the beginning of the film, I felt curious because, I wanted to know exactly what was happening to Miles. He stepped out of his house with anger and immediately entered the garage sparked his car and started driving. At first, I thought he was going to stop those lighting the fireworks or maybe he quarreling with his wife which have made him angry not knowing he was on a different mission. Again, I felt there were poor parenting when it comes to Roy and Clark relationship. Because of this, it created a circle of violence. Roy been the head of the family practice autocratic, style of ruling thus, he has the final say at home which have made Clark to exhibit this behavior and went far to bully Lucy. Also, the film engages me from the beginning. When Miles stepped out of his house in anger, I was wondering what was happening to Miles, again I was eager to find out the reason why he was driving fast which nearly got him into accident on his way. The film was engaging. To summarize the story in a few sentences, I would say a caring father seeking revenge for his daughter and a discipline father punishing his son for his wrongdoings. The central message of the film is discipline and revenge. To add more, there were unexpected twist and surprises in the film. The twist was when Miles went to Roy’s house to seek revenge for his daughter, Roy told him to beat Clark because that’s the main reason why he came but he was just standing there confused thinking what to do next. The surprise came when Roy took it to himself and disciplined Clark to the extent of beating him to the ground, that moment, Miles was surprised because maybe he will not beat his son or daughter to that extent.

Furthermore, the characters were well-developed and believable. The characters played their role to its fullest and every character knew what he or she was doing especially the dog played its role very well to attract fear and tension in the film. Again, the characters also delivered strong performances. When we talk about the characterization, the characters had each role to perform and if I start with Miles, he performed its role as seeking revenge for his daughter that is Lucy which he did it in a fantastic way. Also, a character like Roy, also delivered great performance on punishing his son Clark on is wrongdoing. Again, with the dog its role was super and it performed the role very well to crate fear and tension. To me, all the characters stood out positively because, all the characters performed their role as it was given to them. The relationship between the characters were compelling. To compare Roy and Clark’s relationship, shows that, there are no fatherly relationship between the father which is Roy and the son which is Clark. The scene where Miles went to Roy’s house to confront Clark, Roy called Clark and his response was “yes sir” this shows how Roy demonstrate autocratic leadership I the house. Again, when Roy was beating Clark, Roy’s wife told him to stop and his response was you are not the one to teach me how to raise my son. This also shows Roy shows violence at home and he has the final say, which have made Clark to exhibit this behavior and taken it outside.

Moreover, the use of props, various shot, angles and visuals add more meaning to the film. With the use of props, at the beginning of the film, an American flag was shown to tell us that the film was shot in America and also with synopsis of the film it says the American flag shows that they were celebrating their Republic Day and the film was even shot on 1^st July to emphasis the celebration of the Republic Day of the Americans. Again, the fireworks also add more meaning to the republic day of the Americans. The fireworks shows that they’re in celebrations. Also, the use of ice chest and the ball which was in the pool played by Clark and his friends also give more emphasis on the celebrations. To add more, the use of various evoked emotions. They used close-up shots to evoke emotions of the characters. The close-up shots tell us that the characters were very important and they made we the audience to look no further than the characters only. When Miles entered his car, there were close-up shot to evoke his emotions that he was really angry. Some shot and visuals stood out. The scene where Miles went to Roy’s house, several visuals and shots were taken to evoke emotions and made that audience to keep focus on the characters only. The scene where Roy was beating Clark, there were close-shot for the audience to see the face of Roy and Clark and focus on the character. To add more, the use of color, lighting and framing was effective in communicating. First, with the use of color, Miles was wearing red which represent danger, passion, love to show that indeed he was very angry and wanting to take revenge for this daughter Lucy. On the other hand, Roy was wearing blue which represents calmness, trust and sadness. Roy wore blue to show that he was in a happy mood. With the use of lighting, there were dull light which looked like orange, this communicate that the character Miles was confused and dull not knowing what to do upon returning from Roy’s house. Also, a high angle was used to tell us that the Miles was weak when sleeping in his couch.

To add more, the soundtrack enhanced the mood and storytelling of the film. The sound of the fireworks enhanced the mood of film in the sense that, it added meaning to the celebrations which was happening on that day. Also, the screeching sound of the tires of the car shows how Miles was driving speed and eager to reach to its destination thus Roy’s house which nearly got him into accident. The barking of the dog also enhanced the mood and storytelling of the film. The barking of the dog created tension and fear which may have changed Miles mood on reaching the house. Again, the scene where Roy was beating Clark, the sound of the punches added a certain mood and evoked emotions which was sadness. Also, the sound-effect and dialogue were clear and well-balanced. There was no background sound. The dialogue was very clear and the sound-effect was also very clear. Every scene had its own sound-effect and it was very clear. The tires of the car screeching, the barking of the dog and when Roy was beating Clark, the punch was very clear to hear. Again, the film score left a lasting impression. It created tension and suspense, and evoked mood and emotions.

Lastly, the film did not meet my expectation. The reason been that, what I expected at the beginning of the film was not shown. Miles came out of his house knowing that he was going to stop those lighting the fireworks but he was in a different mission altogether. Also, when Miles entered his garage and sat in his car sparked the car and immediately driving speed made me wonder where he was going. Its most significant strength and weakness were when Miles went to Roy’s house wanting to seek revenge on behalf of his daughter Lucy, he later regretted his actions and sat quiet in his car reflecting on his actions earlier even when the music was playing, he turned it off quickly. Also, it evoked strong emotions and reactions. The scene where Miles came back from Roy’s house, his daughter seems to be not happy with her father Miles. She was sad maybe she was not happy with her father on confronting Clark’s actions. I would recommend this film for others to watch because there are some lessons which everyone must learn especially in taken certain actions and decisions. Certain actions may seem right to you but the ending may go wrong. The film has a lasting impact and message which talks about not every action which seem right to us are the right way but to think about what will happen next if the action is taken.