Over

Narrative

The film has a linear narrative, but the events aren’t in chronological order, so the audience see the events in reverse.

It is very hard to apply narrative theories, as we don’t get to see any characters in detail or know their personalities, as the story is not about character development, but telling a true story to educate an audience. 

11:45PM – Night time on the street

7:30PM – A couple parks on the pavement and gets out to spot a bunch of flowers on the other side of the road.

4:20PM – A man is pressure washing the road and a woman is talking to him. We see that it was probably blood.

3:00PM – A removal van is taking a car away. It cuts to stills of clothes in evidence bags.

12:30PM – Police take the body.

9:50AM – Forensics are taking pictures of the body. Cuts to stills of possessions in evidence bags.

8:00AM – We see the body lying on the street.

7:45AM – The body hasn’t been found yet. People pass by until a man walking his dog finally sees it and calls the police.

6:20AM – The body falls out of the sky, hitting a car and setting of the alarm before hitting the road. 

Lighting

The lighting is all natural as it is set outside. It is dull and dreary, typical of the crime and drama genre.

When the car alarm goes off, the lights flash, adding a more dramatic contrast to the silence.

In the first shot, it is night, and we can see that no one is awake since no lights are on. The only light is created by some dim street lamps. 

Costume, Hair and Makeup

The police officers are wearing their uniform so that the audience can identify them. The bright reflective jackets create a contrast to the plain and dreary street, alerting passers by that there is something wrong.

The man on the ground is wearing the same clothes as the ones in the evidence bags, so that we know they belong to the body.  

Props

Cars are a big part of this film. The strangers pull up in a car. The body lands on the car that was taken away in an earlier shot. Police cars are all around the scene of the accident.

There is a bunch of flowers on the other side of the road, suggesting that something has happened that something wanted to pay respects to.

In the evidence bags there are the possessions of the body. They give an idea of who he was.

The pressure washer is cleaning the street. 

Setting

The film is set on a road outside a row of houses in fairly rich neighbourhood.

The first shot it at night but the rest are set at day as the sequence of events are shown in reverse.

It is quite an a busy and active town as there are people outside playing and exercising.

We can assume that it is somewhere near London and Heathrow airport as the information at the end says that the plane was close to making it’s destination as he fell, and we see the plane fly overhead.

Character Expression

Character expression isn’t the focus of this film. There are no close ups to show facial expression and emotion so the audience has to rely on the setting to explain what is going on.

All of the characters are acting in a very naturalistic and realistic way, either going about their day or inspecting the scene of the accident.

The man who finds the body is very hesitant to go over and keeps his distance, standing on the other side of the road. This could show that things like this are a rare occurrence in this neighbourhood.   

Editing

All of the shots are long takes, portraying real life and the mundane unexcitement that is felt.

The film cuts multiple times to still images of the man’s clothes and possessions in evidence. This shows that all that’s left of him are these items. His identity is unknown.

All of the cuts are quite harsh as they are cutting long periods of time. The time is in the bottom corner so the audience doesn’t get confused. 

Sound

All of the sound in the film is diegetic and can be heard by the characters. There is no soundtrack to keep with the style of realism that has been chosen. Also, it is a true and sensitive story, so it is best to be respectful.

The film has a constant background babble that is typical of a big town, except at night and very early in the morning when most people are asleep.

All the dialogue is heard at the realistic volume that it would be heard at if you were standing where the camera was. This again, stays within the realistic style.

There is a dramatic volume shift from when the camera is far away, to when it is close up on the pressure washer. It could be a representation of how quickly life changes and it comes out of nowhere.

When the evidence bags are being shown, there are sounds that suggest that they were taken in a police station. 

Cinematography

Opening shot is a wide establishing shot that pans across the street, showing where the main action in the story will take place.

The majority of shots are wide so that the audience can get a good look at what is happening in the area. It isn’t necessary to have lots of close ups as they are generally used to show emotion or focus on something important. The audience is having information shown to them slowly, so a close up would give that away too early, and the emotions aren’t as important as the story itself. We only see the body until eight minutes into the film. It builds tension and mystery.

We see a man pressure washing the road, but only see what it is he is cleaning till there is a close up. The aim is to keep the audience in the dark for as long as possible, slowly fitting together the pieces of the jigsaw until it is finally revealed at the end.