Weekly Film Analysis: Attack the Block

Attack the Block follows an unlucky young woman and a gang of tough inner-city kids who make an unlikely alliance to try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures, turning a South London apartment complex into a war-zone. Attack the block is an interesting film to analyse as there are a merge of contrasting genres within this film. Furthermore, there are many micro features that I have discovered in ‘Attack the Block’.

Mis-en-scene is shown througH what the actors/actresses are wearing; the gang are wearing hoodies, tracksuits and caps, which portrays and stereotypes south London teenage boys living in urban areas that take part in gang violence. Also the contrasting outfit of what the woman being attacked wore, (jacket, hat, purse and jeans) was a casual formal wear of clothes presents her innocence and the use of the wallet, shows the audience that she is a nurse, which is a way of introducing and giving an impression to the characters in the film. Also, the creature was a form of prop as  post-production added the unearthly qualities such as the spiky fur which doesn't reflect any light, the claws, the rows of bio luminescent jaws, and even some of their movement. Moreover, I believe the actors give the audience range age of 15-25 years old, due to the actors being on an age range of this and the contrast of genres keeps the younger and older audience interested. Light is shown through majority of the scenes shown on the ‘blocks’ around midnight, presenting a sci-fi and gloomy atmosphere connoting the theme of here, violence and death. Also, sound is shown through non-diegetic sound, but a lot of songs were played throughout the film, and at key scenes there was diegetic sound taken place to give more of an effect of the plot.

Furthermore, the use of the cinematography was done by Tom Townend who focused his effects on the alienated creature by giving it unique qualities which was shown through the camera angle. There was many close up at the opening scene and shots of the main character, Moses, which gave the audience an indication that the film was based around him and his story. Lastly, their performance played a massive role to the film. The director used different ages and ethnicity to show the reality of south London culture and a sense of social realism. The key themes in Attack the block would be violence, love, conflict, death, bravery, etc. the setting was based in Brixton, which again makes the film more realistic.