Narrative Analysation Essay - Y13 Film 'The Secret'

The Secret is a two minute opening for a film which my group created for our Year 13 coursework. The film surrounds a closeted homosexual teenage boy, Will, who lives within a homophobic society and household. However, Will has a boyfriend, Taylor, who has been led to believe that Will has told his family about their relationship, which isn't true.

The film opening takes place in Will's home. By showing Will driving into a driveway and entering a house, the audience automatically links what is happening in one shot with what is happening in shots either side of it, so the audience knows that the house is Will's family home. In this way, the audience is interacting with the film. We chose to set the location in the family home, as it gives the audience a direct insight into Will's life at home, and lets us into a private part of his life both in terms of location and relationships. By the film being set in Will's room, it could represent how Will keeps a large part of his life behind closed doors. The structure of the film follows Todorovs narrative theory, as the film opens in a state of equilibrium- the colours are bright white outside, no problems have occurred thus far and overall the film opens on a content scene.

Immediately as Will enters his room, technical code is introduced as the colour choice of a black wall in the room could reflect how the audience is entering the dark, private part of Will's life that no one else knows about. This makes the audience feel more included in what is taking place on screen.

Action codes are used effectively in the film once Taylor is introduced, as Will stutters and sounds uneasy when talking to his boyfriend about being public about their relationship. This propels the narrative forward, and also acts as symbolic code as these actions act as a clue towards Will not being open about his sexuality to his family and being uncomfortable with his sexuality, which eventually causes problems within his relationship. Will's actions also make the audience question why he is acting uneasy which is eventually revealed.