OCEAN’S 11- FOCUS FILM CASE STUDY

By Vineeta, Rachael and Juan

There are usually three parts to a heist film•The gathering of the team and planning•The robbery takes place•The escape

The team is usually labelled as crazy.The majority of these actors are very popular, some more than others. All of them are portrayed to be a little bit crazy as they are about to do a job that most people wouldn't even dream about. Reuben says 'you're out of your minds' and also 'you're gonna need a crew as nuts as your are'. This conforms to the convention of having a crazy team.

Then there is a love interest Danny Ocean's ex wife, Tess is a huge part in the heist as she eventually turns out to be an accomplice where Danny puts a phone in her jacket and that ends up as a way for him to communicate with Benedict. (the guy who is getting robbed)

The protagonist must have a personal reason to rob this precise locationAs seen above, Tess is in a relationship with the owner of the three casinos which will get robbed. This is the personal reason for Danny Ocean to attack these specific locations.

There will be an amazing piece of technology (the pinch)The pinch is a piece of technology which during the film, cuts out the power of a whole city, one of the cities which uses up the most power in the world, Las Vegas.

GENRE CONVENTIONS

TECHNICAL ASPECTSCinematography:• An establishing shot is used to show where the heist group are

– Las Vegas, to get a sense of the atmosphere, which is essentially hot spot which would intrigue the audience as to how the group would complete a successful heist.

• Close up/mid shots are used in the film to capture the expression on the characters face. In the close up of Brad Pitt to the right, he is on the phone with slightly raised eyebrows, looking away from the camera which could connote worry/fear.

Sound: • The film uses an array of jazzy instruments such as saxophones and bass guitars when the group are in action/plotting their robbery, with an up-tempo beat as the music score. This gives a 60’s/70 feel to the film.

Mise-en-scene:• Many of the scene’s are shot in darkened rooms with

minimal lighting in areas to signify privacy and possible and illegal activity. This is in contrast to the flashing bright lights and gold coloured décor of the casino to show wealth and that they are in Las Vegas.

• The characters are dressed in smart suited clothing which could connote their seriousness and dedication to the heist.

Editing:Whenever the group are in action the shots become fast paced and when there are emotional or breaking of the equilibrium moments the shot is still or very slow to catch the reaction and symbolise its importance in the film to the audience.

REPRESENTATION + CHARACTERIZATION

The character’s portrayed in Ocean’s Eleven both represent stereotypes and stock types. At the start of Ocean's Eleven, Danny the protagonist played by George clooney gets paroled from prison and after less than a day, he breaks his parole by going to another state to find Rusty who is played by Brad Pitt. This conforms to stereotypes of criminals in that they inevitably will commit another crime and usually for economic purposes such as getting rich or stealing money for revenge. In this case Danny is presented as a professional criminal who with the help of others is skilfully trained to carry out risky heists. Usually in films criminals represent the opposition to the law and are viewed as the bad guys versus the good guys. However this film subverts this convention by portraying the characters as intelligent masterminds who use their skills to their advantage. Every story has a range of personalities we recognise from other stories for example in heist films there is always a leading man who is in charge of the group. In this case Danny is presented as the front man of the group and his fellow partners in the group reflect unique assets that will help in completing the heist successfully. This can be seen by the Chinese gymnast who is known as the amazing yen in the film and he uses his flexibility to overcome obstacles in the films The film also adheres to conventions by placing the protagonist as a white middle aged man and having a seductive woman who threatens to add complications to the heist. Julia Roberts plays this woman and we can see that Danny is in a dilemma which sees him have to choose between her or the money. Finally the ending of the film which sees the group emerge victorious also complies to conventions as the audience know that this was an ideal ending.

NARRATIVEThe narrative for this film is linear as the plot begins with Danny in prison and when he is let out he begins organising the heist. From here onwards we see him recruiting members for the group and then we see in chronological order the aspects of the heist in detail. It ends with the group overcoming the odds and emerging successful.

Heist films reflect a great story because it presents a mystery which we get to see lots of trouble along the way, and usually a satisfying end, with the crime often, but not always solved. The film takes us on a mysterious journey and we can play an active part in working out if they will get caught out or not.

There are different themes in this film such as conflict for example between Danny and the casino owner, suspense for example when the Chinese gymnast misses his step and also dramatic irony for example we the audience know what the characters are planning to do whereas the other characters in the film are oblivious to this.

Finally, the ending presents an optimistic resolution in which Danny gets the girl and the money.