Lucy

(Emily Bedford)

Audiences and Institutions

• Title of Film: Lucy
• Director: Luc Besson
• Year of Release: 2014
• Certificate: 15
• Top Billing: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
• Awards: n/a
• Genre: action/sci-fi/thriller
• Production Institution: Canal +
• Distribution Institution: Columbia Pictures / Universal Pictures
• Gross Money: $121,599,300
• Primary/Secondary Audience: P= 16-25s, S=25-40s
• Platforms used to advertise: Trailer/Posters
• Marketing successful?: Yes, huge profit

Text

• Text found:

1. ‘The following has been approved for appropriate audiences by the motion picture association of America, INC
2. Universal (logo), A Comcast production
3. Universal Pictures and Europcorp present
4. This Summer
5. Scarlett Johansson
6. Morgan Freeman
7. LUCY
8. August
9. Lucymovie.com / A universal release 2014 universal studios

• Distribution/Production Company: Universal – (Logo underneath)
• Actors/Producer/Director/Awards?: Scarlett Johansson / Morgan Freeman
• Narrative Structure? Connection with images and voice over/dialogue?: The structure follows the structure of the film with the beginning scene, coinciding with the beginning of the film. The narration comes from the main character Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) resulting in many other characters contributing to the narration through conversation. The dialogue is taken from scenes of the film therefore the narration connects with the images, as they are extracts taken from the film edited to provide a short summary.
• Release Date: ‘This Summer’
• Size, Colour, and style of fonts? Background?: All the fonts are in capitals in order to stand out from the background and make a bold statement. This suits the film as the genre is thriller/action therefore much of the images behind the text are high-paced, full of action and are busy, therefore the bold font shall stand out. Alongside being in all capitals and a bold font, all of the text is large taking up much of the shot, and is all central in order to catch the audience’s attention immediately. The background remains black, with the font being white, therefore contrasting one another resulting in the text standing out. The text remains still in order to make in even more of a statement.

Macro Analysis

Representation:

At the beginning of the scene Lucy (who is a blonde/white woman) is portrayed as weak and inferior to the males around her. The first scene displays her in her underwear therefore reinforcing the idea that woman are weaker than men and are seen as an object. However as the trailer continues the roles are reversed as Lucy becomes the most powerful character. Her signature hairstyle is that similar to Marilyn Monroe (a famous female icon of the 60’s) therefore reinstating this power. Her powers give her superiority over all characters, and due to this, her intelligence, and her beauty she is ultimately viewed as a super figure.

Due to the trailer and film being set in China there is a vast number of Chinese cast. The majority of whom are part of the ‘drug’ gang, therefore portraying them as evil. However at the beginning of the trailer the Chinese are shown to be the superior race due to their large numbers and great strength. However as the trailer develops roles reverse once again as Lucy becomes the most powerful figure, leaving them under her control.

Stereotypes:

The main character Lucy is seen to be stereotypical initially. A blonde white girl is stereotypically unintelligent, weak, yet provocative (reinforced by her clothing). However stereotypes (although initially reinforced) are challenged due to her ultimate strength and power over all the male characters (stereotypically males are superior than females).

Genre Identification; Lucy is categorised under the genres action, sci-fi, and thriller. Here are some screenshots to show that it is these genres.

Narrative Theory:

• Claude Levi Strauss–Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can be applied to this trailer. There are two clear definite oppositions (Lucy vs The Chinese Drug Producers), and this can be interpreted by Lucy (good) vs Chinese Drug Produces (evil). This conflict drives the storyline as Lucy attempts to defeat the bad and get rid of the drugs for good.
• Tzevetan Todorov- His theory of equilibrium is not applicable as it involves the beginning being a state of equilibrium. This trailer begins with the event having already occurred therefore it cannot be applied.
• Roland Barthes- Barthes theory of the 5 narrative codes is applicable. Specifically the action (proairetic) code). This is where ‘any action initiated must be complete’, and is seen where Lucy’s mission of removing the drugs for good must be completed before her brain reaches 100% capacity.
• Vladimir Propp- Propp’s theory of characters is applicable however causes conflict. Lucy acts as the hero, and with the leader of the Drug producers being the villain. The film also follows Propp’s idea of ‘confliction between the hero and villain, as both characters race to find the left over drugs.

 

Micro Analysis

Camerawork: Due to the genre of the film being an action, there are many close ups in order to account for the past-paced nature of the trailer. For example the first shot of the entire trailer shows a close up of Lucy’s face, as she lies horizontal on the bed of her capturers. This is to emphasise her panic as she lies unaware of her location or of previous events. Even as she parties in a night club with hundred surrounding her, and in an extremely bright and busy setting, the director chooses a close up, due to the fact that she is the one to be noticed, and she is the one who shall guide the narrative. The extreme close up of Lucy’s eye, as the bag of drugs explode inside her, justify the genre of the film, and signify that an enormous change has occurred. After this the whole feel of the trailer changes as everything becomes much more fast-paced. A time-lapse effect is used on a scene of times-square in New York, showing this increase in time and pace.

Sound: The trailer begins with a long high pitch, which shows the main character’s (Lucy), confusion and disorientation, with the sound replicating the feeling of her ‘ears and head ringing’. This high pitch then fades into the non-diegetic background music, which is of an oriental genre, to match her location and the ethnic origin of the men whom have captured her. She then experiences a flash back of the night before in a club, of which bursts of diegetic club music are heard by the audience, whilst the oriental style music acts as a sound bridge and continues into the next few scenes. The narrative is guided by the dialogue of the characters, for example upon her capture Lucy exclaims ‘what’s going on?’. The dialogue of her capturers explaining how ‘you are going to transport something very special to us’, informs the reader of the storyline/quest that the main character is about to undertake. As a bag is placed over her head (cutting her vision), the background music similarly cuts leaving a tense, and dramatic silence. The diegetic sound of her breathing is then emphasised in order to highlight the trauma and panic that the character is experiencing. The background music then consists of an extremely low, electric guitar sound again increasing the tension, which is furthered by the main character being kicked in the stomach resulting in a diegetic gasp of pain. Again a cut of all footage and sound signifies the difference between the ‘no drug’ phase, and the ‘drug released into bloodstream’ phase.

Mise-en-scene: The initial shots of Lucy dressed in her underwear, sexualise the nature of the film and the character herself. This is reinstated through her combination of a large leopard print jacket, heels and red clothing with are often associated with a prostitute. The Chinese décor on the walls of the bedroom she is in, justifies her capturers and reinstate who has the authority at this point in time. The costumes of the Chinese workmen are dressed all in black suits, which not only suggests they are of a high financial status, but also suggests that they are dangerous due to the connotations of the colour. The leader of the Chinese gang however is dressed in a silver suit, therefore showing his importance and leadership over the other Chinese characters. Silver is a sign of wealth, but is also quite an unusual colour for a suit, therefore it leads the audience to feel an element of discomfort.

Editing: At the beginning of the trailer the all transitions used of a simple fade in and fade out, in order to create the idea of dizziness and delusion, which is what the character is currently experiencing. However as the bag of drugs burst inside her, all transitions are a fast and quick cut in order to maximise pace and definition. Many special CGI effects are used for example, the shots inside of Lucy’s body showing the drugs travelling throughout, the colour of her eye changing rapidly with every blink, and the scene in the car where Lucy is able to listen to everyone conversations. This not only justifies its genre, but opens it up to special effects awards and creates excitement for the viewers.