Somers Town After Viewing Questions

Somers Town After Viewing Questions

4. I would categorise Somers Town as a comedy-drama, containing around equal parts comedy and drama. The film is light hearted, but not consistently so, as there are serious undertones and moments in it which cause you to stop and think. It does not remind me directly of a film that I have seen before, although I have seen things with similar sentiments and atmosphere. The two tones within the film offset each other very well, and serve to make it more interesting, and unpredictable.
5. I think the film’s appeal lies mainly in it’s charm, and it’s intelligent and interesting look at that part of London and social relationships during the building of the Eurostar terminal. I think it appeals more to an audience who wish to see something fascinating, but something that has an element of fun to help build an atmosphere that you can immerse yourself in.
6. The subtitled parts of the film help spread the message in the film that everyone is basically the same, no matter what language they speak, and helps us see similarities between the characters. The fact that the film has been shot in black and white I think helps create an atmosphere of what we might call poverty. It emphasises the fact that the area in which the film is set is a working class area, and that most of the characters are from a working class background, thus reflecting a mood within the film.
8. I think the audience is not expected to be comfortable with the portrayal of the two teenagers in the film as they are shown in a very realistic way, and there are various points in the film where they don’t behave as people would want them to behave. I think the audience is supposed to sympathise with them, it’s just that this does not mean they will feel comfortable with their portrayal.
9. I don’t think that the film encourages us to judge the actions of Tomo and Marek when they play in the prohibited areas, as the way it is shown in the film is just as normal playing, and to the viewers of the film, there doesn’t seem to be anything about it that should be “prohibited” as such. Thus, the audience is encouraged to take the boys’ side in this matter.
10. The messages about childhood and adolescence that you take away from the film are mixed, as it is represented in different ways in the film. On the one hand, that it can be very immature, and on the other that can be caring and feeling, and think about things. Ultimately, it is the latter that you walk away from the film with.
11. Your reactions to the boys throughout the film change in various directions throughout the film. Parts of the film where you are made to sympathise include the scene in which Tomo is beaten, and when the boys get the wheelchair and decorate it for Maria. You are given an unsympathetic portrayal of them most notably in the part where they get drunk and trash Marek’s home. This, however is turned to sympathy quite quickly.
12. I agree that Meadows is using stereotypes in his depiction of Marek’s father, Graham and Maria, but I think he is using them for a reason. Graham the cockney is a stereotype used for comic effect, and is where most of the comedy in the film stems from. Marek’s father is used to provide a serious reflective part to the film, and Maria is used in part to represent the merging of cultures that has come with the building of the Eurostar terminal, a purpose for which the character of Marek’s father could also be applied. These stereotypes are stereotypes are stereotypes which have been used many times in British film, but in Somers Town they are all used to represent something within the setting of the film