'Let Him Have It' film review
Let Him Have It
By Katja Rackin
'Let him have it' directed by Peter Medak is based on a controversial true story about the crime committed by Christopher Craig and Derek Bentley. Two policemen were shot on the rooftop and one was killed. Although the events actually happened the film is biased towards Derek Bentley as the film shows Bentley only witnessing the happenings, whereas Craig is fully responsible for the policeman's death and various scenes are included, persuading the viewer to agree with the directors opinions. The director shows Derek's side of the story and also shows him as a likeable character rather than a criminal. His family is overprotective because of his epilepsy which makes Derek seem vulnerable, meaning Christopher Craig could easily take advantage of him, which is how the director wants to portray the story.
Throughout the film the presentation of Derek Bentley's character shows a helpless young boy who struggles in life. The viewers also see his character as innocent and scared. In the first scene during the war it shows Derek and his friends robbing a garden tool shed to be caught by the owner, which is when Derek has an epileptic fit. This scene displays Derek as a frail character and makes the viewers sympathise with him. It shows how scared he is at robbing the shed in the first place and then even more at being caught, which makes the viewers think he's been persuaded into doing this or maybe it was peer pressure, giving us an impression of weakness from the character of Derek Bentley.
Derek Bentley had recently been let out of Kingswood Approved School for his 'low intelligence'. After that he refused to leave the house and remained inside for a year. He stayed in his room with the animals. This shows how easily Derek Bentley might be influenced by others such as Christopher Craig as this scene shows the vulnerability of the character. This scene also adds to what we feel about Bentley as his rejection from the school might have caused him to feel unwanted, therefore easily could be said to join any group of people such as Christopher Craig and his friends no matter how bad things get as this would give him a sense of belonging.
Derek is rejected by the army because of his epilepsy. He is called 'sub-normal'. The director chooses to include this scene because of the affects it might have had on him. I think by including this scene the director gives more of an insight to the character of Derek Bentley and how he's isolated because of his epilepsy and made to feel like an outcast. Derek Bentley was subjected to feel distant from others around him and his rejection from the army justified these feelings. This goes to show how the scene makes a difference in the film ...
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Derek is rejected by the army because of his epilepsy. He is called 'sub-normal'. The director chooses to include this scene because of the affects it might have had on him. I think by including this scene the director gives more of an insight to the character of Derek Bentley and how he's isolated because of his epilepsy and made to feel like an outcast. Derek Bentley was subjected to feel distant from others around him and his rejection from the army justified these feelings. This goes to show how the scene makes a difference in the film 'Let Him Have It' as it builds up the vision the director is trying to create and adds to the impressions the viewer gets from the character of Derek Bentley and creates more likeability for him.
The first time the viewer sees Christopher Craig he's hanging around the streets, watching Bentley and his sister. I think the director used this as Craig's first appearance so the viewer instantly gets the impression he's a suspicious character, opposing us against Craig and further adding to the impression of innocence towards Bentley. The director wants viewers to have this impression from the start so then he builds this impression up with various other scenes such as, when Craig and Bentley first met, Craig pretends to kill himself under a train which makes the viewer see that Bentley can't trust Craig, however Bentley himself does not see this. This makes us feel sympathy for Bentley and disdain for Craig because we know Craig's a bad influence on Bentley, which helps us foresee the situation in which Craig could put Bentley in.
In the scene when they are breaking in, Craig shows Bentley the gun, "what you got that for?" asks Bentley. "My dad's gonna kill me," he says. These quotes show that Bentley's intentions on the roof were not to kill or hurt anyone. He seems shocked and surprised at Craig for having a gun and I think the director uses these quotes to identify Bentley's innocence. The second quote shows him thinking of his family which gives a humanitarian affect. After Craig has shot the policeman, the slow-motion shot shows Bentley shaking and kneeling down beside the dead policeman, while Craig continues shooting. The differing behaviour indicates that Craig is to blame which the director purposely included to further justify Derek's innocence. By showing him shaking and kneeling the director is showing the misfortune of this character and how he just made friends with the wrong crowd or been caught in the wrong situation, which makes us empathise with him. It also makes viewers think that Bentley doesn't want to be there whereas Craig shooting his gun and acting gangster gives the impression he doesn't care or isn't bothered by what's happening.
The trial starts with Bentley with his head down, while Craig is smirking. This immediately gives us the idea that Bentley feels remorse whereas Craig does not and it could even be said that he feels proud of what he's done. The prosecution lawyer's speech is made to seem laughable; 'Although he (Bentley) was technically under arrest at the time of the actual murder, he was nevertheless still supporting Craig in all that Craig continued to do.' As a viewer we know this is untrue and impossible so the verdict immediately becomes discredited. The noise we hear from the courtroom and the faces of the jury as the camera pan across them also shows this and the viewer is made to wonder why Bentley is found guilty. It is made clear by the director that as it was a policeman that had been shot someone had to be found guilty, we are shown a courtroom full of policemen, who as Derek is taken away to prison we hear being given awards for bravery. Derek was found 'guilty with a recommendation for mercy.' The judge however had no choice but to pass 'the only sentence law can pass' and although Craig was 'evidently in the opinion of the jury the more guilty of the two,' he was too young to be sentenced to death so to show the policemen someone had been punished Derek had to be. The injustice of the trial adds to the viewers sympathy for Bentley.
The director uses a lot of techniques after the trial such as lighting to make Bentley seem innocent. After Bentley has been taken down the scene shows Bentley sitting in the light while Craig is sitting in the shade, clearly indicating who in the opinion of the director is the guiltier of the two. Once again lighting is used, when the light shines through the window of the door like a church window on the bath full of support letters the day Derek's parents hear the sentence will be carried out, this gives a religious significance to the case, making Bentley seem more innocent and martyr-like. While Derek's father waits for the verdict we see a shot of him sitting holding Derek's toy aeroplane, this reminds us that inside Bentley is just a child, as does his question 'Does it hurt?' when his family go to see him, which emphasises Bentley's childlike status, as done throughout the appeal. Derek's farewell to his family is poignant as he insists on staying strong, 'Cheerio. I'll see you tomorrow' he says and he is not even allowed to kiss his mother goodbye, he has to put his hand up to the glass instead. His letter is also selfless; he offers advice to his family, telling them to look after the animals and make sure his little brother stays out of trouble. We hear him saying it, before we realise that he is dedicating it to the guard because he can't write, again focusing on his childlike innocence, this confirmed by how he signs the letter. Although Derek could not have a Church funeral because he is considered a sinner, he is almost given one in the film by the director. Before his death we see a shot of the street in which he lived, empty except for the milk cart, which looks like a funeral hearse, his supporters are singing a hymn, the prison staff have stopped working and are stood in silence when the clock chimes sound like Church bells. This all confirms that the director is portraying Bentley as innocent and by showing the public supporting him it shows the truth behind the innocence which also helps to gain the viewers sympathy.
At the end of the film, the viewer reads that Bentley's parents fought for his innocence until their deaths and Iris still continues that fight today. The film 'Let him have it' make the viewer want to support that fight through making them feel sympathy for Bentley because the film makes us think that Derek did not deserve what he got, therefore making viewers want to get the truth out and do what's right for his case. The film makes viewers feel sympathy and compassion for both Derek and his family, which was the purpose of the film, presenting and justifying the director's views and opinions of the events and trial. By focusing the story on Bentley rather than Craig the director immediately gets the viewer on Bentley's side as viewers often want happiness for the main character. Scenes such as when Bentley gets rejected by the army and when on the rooftop he' shaking and kneeling fully emphasise Peter Medak's judgements on the events and convince the viewers to think alike, resulting in them maybe wanting to help fight for Bentley's innocence.
