Evaluation 1) INFLUENCES ON FILM OPENING - COMPARE AND CONTRAST

There are three films which greatly influenced our film opening. They are:

1. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
2. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
3. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Ritchie, 1997)

Goodfellas is comparable to our film in that:

1. Both films revolve around kidnappings. For example, in Goodfellas, a big-time gangster, Billy Batts, gets beaten, kidnapped, and then killed in a forest in the middle of nowhere. In Time Out of Mind, a young girl, Cassie, is kidnapped and held hostage by Izabella, a big-time gangster.
   
2. The way in which the opening to both films are shot. Both films employ quick, teasing shots, which give the viewer a sense of where they are, and what the situation is, but not the complete picture.
   
3. The use of props and setting. Both openings use cars to symbolize a kidnapping or a crime, and both openings use secluded areas to perpetuate their crimes.
   

Goodfellas contrasts to our film in that:

1. Goodfellas is, on the whole, much more male orientated (i.e., the title itself). The villain in Time Out of Mind is a woman, and here, our intention is to subvert the stereotypical role of woman in the media and, in particular, in crime thrillers. With the idea of subverting stereotypical female roles in mind, another way our film contrasts to Goodfellas is that the kidnapping victim in that film is a middle-aged man, while in our film, it is a 17-year-old girl. Here, our intention is to heighten the threatening nature of our female villain, which will, in turn, further reinforce the subversion of stereotypical gender roles.
   
2. The use of music. While Goodfellas uses almost no music (save for the use of Tony Bennet's Rags to Riches), our film use music almost continuously, helping to create the moody, downbeat atmosphere that we are going for.
   
3. The language/dialog used. Goodfellas' use of dialog is very sparse, and the language is very harsh (i.e., the use of profanities from the first few lines). Our film, on the other hand, concludes with a monologue, and also, there are no uses of profanity.

Pulp Fiction is comparable to our film in that:

1. Izabella's (Darine's) character in relation to Mia Wallace's (Uma Thurman's) character in Pulp Fiction. This is in terms of not only their appearance (which are intentionally similar), and also their reckless attitudes and natures.
   
2. Structure. Our film starts with action seen in the middle, whilst Pulp Fiction starts with action which is seen toward the end.
   

Pulp Fiction contrasts to our film in that:

1. Pulp Fiction is, like Goodfellas, more male orientated, and two men are shown as being the central characters. They are likable, and we champion them throughout he film. With our film, it is more geared toward a female audience, with a woman being the villain and holding power over the man, who is described as being a "worm." Although our film does follow a male character, he is not intended to be likable and we certainly do not wish for our audience to champion his actions.
   
2. Although our film begins with action seen in the middle, after the opening, we intend to tell our story in a linear order, with the action leading to and concluding from the action seen near the beginning. With Pulp Fiction, Tarantino decided to show it in a non-linear order, in order to create a novel-style universe.

Lock, Stock compares to our film in that:

1. Both feature a poker game as major plot devices. Also, the way in which the game is shot are very similar in style to one another.
   
2. Both films are set in London and and feature British gangsters.
   

Lock, Stock contrasts from our film in that:

1. Lock, Stock is much more male orientated, with men being portrayed as dangerous, threatening figures, while our film is geared more toward a female audience, and showing women as the strong, powerful ones, who have absolute power over the weak, "worm-like," men.
   
2. Lock, Stock is much more comedic, while our film takes itself much more seriously.