About A Girl Review
By Shaban Jahan
About A Girl – Drama
Directed by Brian Percival
Starring – Ashley Thewlis, John Slater, Sue Jaynes and Loren Crook
Produced by Janey de Nordwall
Written by Julie Rutterford
Edited by Phil Tuner
About A Girl won several awards including BAFTA award for the best short film in 2001,the Edinburgh Film Festival Prize for the best short film,City Light Award for Best Short Film and Granada TV Short film Award.
In addition Ashley Thewlis performance in About A Girl was described as very hard-hitting and brilliant by Ewan McGregor.
About A Girl is about a girl telling the audience about her life as a teenager, therefore in the film the girl talks about some difficulties she had to deal with in her life such as parents, hence in the film there is an uncomfortable sense of essential sadness in her easygoing tales, but it is not until the end that the audience find out the disturbing truth.
About a girl puts across the desire of young teenage girls wanting to be independent; hence in the opening scene of the film we see the girl singing the Britney Spears song ‘Stronger’ and we see her doing the dance routine. This suggests that the director wanted to express to the audience that the girl should be seen as a strong confidant young woman who can handle anything. In addition the song expresses the feeling of doing well in life and not to let other people make us feel bad about our selves. Therefore this makes the audience feel sadness about the young teenage girl not being able to fulfil her dream.
We could argue that the strong mancunnian accent indicates to the audience that girl likes to party and have fun with her friends because the girl talks informally right into the camera to the audience. In fact in most part of the film the girl is talking non- stop and she mix’s dry statements about stardom and singers with random quotes from her parents and she describes her life to the audience. For example the girl tells the audience about her relationship with her dad, her frustration with her mum, her desire to become a famous singer and to form a band with her friends. Hence the director is portraying the typical dreams of a 13th year old teenager but with hints about family troubles, poverty and domestic violence which makes it hard for her to fulfil her dreams.
On the other hand the use of inter cut editing in About a girl shows the audience how the girl acts in different places, for example in one of the scenes we see the girl and her friends on the back of a bus singing another Britney Spears song ‘Oops! I did it again’. Therefore the audience sees the director’s input on the idea of the girl entreating to fit in with social life, hence in that particular scene the audience see the girl being happy and free from being watched by her parents all the time.
Moreover the girl’s monologue suggest that the girl is from an working class ethnicity, likewise this suggest that there is a desperate desire to ‘show them’ and to escape her situation when the girl talks about her plans to become famous and a rich singer living in London.
When the girl is emotionless retelling the incident of her mum drowning their puppy in a canal after she found out that they had managed to hide it for two days from her, the audience sees a cunning and unsettling implication that the girl has become wise beyond her age. Hence the director wanted to underside the girl’s light-hearted storytelling by revealing in a shocking scene at the end of the film when the girl states that she has become “good at hiding things”, and the fact that the girl throws the plastic bag has been carrying into the canal. In fact the underwater shot which shows a newborn baby sinking slowly into the canal bottom and the film ending with plastic bag floating along the canal and the girl walking away. Therefore this suggests that the director wanted to leave the audience with a cliff hanger and questioning the ending.
About a girl puts across the desire of young teenage girls wanting to be independent; hence in the opening scene of the film we see the girl singing the Britney Spears song ‘Stronger’ and we see her doing the dance routine. This suggests that the director wanted to express to the audience that the girl should be seen as a strong confidant young woman who can handle anything. In addition the song expresses the feeling of doing well in life and not to let other people make us feel bad about our selves. Therefore this makes the audience feel sadness about the young teenage girl not being able to fulfil her dream.
We could argue that the strong mancunnian accent indicates to the audience that girl likes to party and have fun with her friends because the girl talks informally right into the camera to the audience. In fact in most part of the film the girl is talking non- stop and she mix’s dry statements about stardom and singers with random quotes from her parents and she describes her life to the audience. For example the girl tells the audience about her relationship with her dad, her frustration with her mum, her desire to become a famous singer and to form a band with her friends. Hence the director is portraying the typical dreams of a 13th year old teenager but with hints about family troubles, poverty and domestic violence which makes it hard for her to fulfil her dreams.
On the other hand the use of inter cut editing in About a girl shows the audience how the girl acts in different places, for example in one of the scenes we see the girl and her friends on the back of a bus singing another Britney Spears song ‘Oops! I did it again’. Therefore the audience sees the director’s input on the idea of the girl entreating to fit in with social life, hence in that particular scene the audience see the girl being happy and free from being watched by her parents all the time.
Moreover the girl’s monologue suggest that the girl is from an working class ethnicity, likewise this suggest that there is a desperate desire to ‘show them’ and to escape her situation when the girl talks about her plans to become famous and a rich singer living in London.
When the girl is emotionless retelling the incident of her mum drowning their puppy in a canal after she found out that they had managed to hide it for two days from her, the audience sees a cunning and unsettling implication that the girl has become wise beyond her age. Hence the director wanted to underside the girl’s light-hearted storytelling by revealing in a shocking scene at the end of the film when the girl states that she has become “good at hiding things”, and the fact that the girl throws the plastic bag has been carrying into the canal. In fact the underwater shot which shows a newborn baby sinking slowly into the canal bottom and the film ending with plastic bag floating along the canal and the girl walking away. Therefore this suggests that the director wanted to leave the audience with a cliff hanger and questioning the ending.
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