Short Stories & Film Adaptations

While film reviews tend to be fairly short (approximately 600 to 1200 words), they require a lot of preparation before you begin writing.

1. Prior to viewing the film, you may want to get a sense of the bodies of work by the director, writer, or individual actor.
   For instance, you may watch other films by the same director or writer in order to get a sense of each individual style. This will enable you to contextualize the film and determine whether it works as a continuation and/or disruption within the broad trends of the director’s or writer’s work.

2. Writing a film review often requires multiple viewings of the film. Plan to watch the film two or even three times.
   1. During the first viewing, surrender yourself to the cinematic experience; in other words, get lost in the narrative and enjoy the film without worrying about the argument you will eventually cultivate.
   2. During your second viewing, try distancing yourself from the plot and instead focus on interesting elements of the film that you can highlight in the review. You may separate these elements into two broad categories:
      • Formal techniques such as cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, lighting, sound, genre, or narratology, and
      • Thematic content that resonates with issues such as history, race, gender, sexuality, class, or the environment.
   3. After watching the film a second time, take careful notes on the formal and thematic elements of the film. Then attempt to create a central idea for your review that brings together the film’s formal and thematic elements. If your second viewing does not yield a strong central claim for the review or if you need to take more notes, you may have to watch the film or parts of the film a third time.

Although there is not a set formula to follow when writing a film review, the genre does have certain common elements that most film reviews include.

Introduction

In the opening of your review, provide some basic information about the film. You may include film’s name, year, director, screenwriter, and major actors. Your introduction, which may be longer than one paragraph, should also begin to evaluate the film, and it should allude to the central concept of the review. A film review does not have to contain a thesis or main claim, but it should focus on a central analysis and assessment.

Plot Summary

Remember that many readers of film reviews have not yet seen the film. While you want to provide some plot summary, keep this brief and avoid specific details that would spoil the viewing for others.

Description

While the plot summary will give the reader a general sense of what the film is about, also include a more detailed description of your particular cinematic experience watching the film. This may include your personal impression of what the film looks, feels, and sounds like. In other words, what stands out in your mind when you think about this particular film?

Analysis

In order to explain your impression of the film, consider how well the film utilizes formal techniques and thematic content. How do the film’s formal techniques (such as cinematography, editing, mise-en-scène, lighting, sound, genre, or narrative) affect the way the film looks, feels, and sounds to you? How does the thematic content (such as history, race, gender, sexuality, class, or the environment) affect your experience and interpretation? Also, do the formal techniques work to forward the thematic content?

Conclusion/Evaluation

The closing of your film review should remind the reader of your general thoughts and impressions of the film. You may also implicitly or explicitly state whether or not you recommend the film. Make sure to remind the reader of why the film is or is not worth seeing.

Your paper will be graded on the following:

1. Introduction of the movie and plot synopsis
2. Background information and your overall knowledge about the movie
3. Your unbiased and intelligent analysis of the movie
4. Audience recognition and conclusion
5. Approximately 1000 words
6. 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced
7. MLA format
8. Check D2L for the due date