Let him have it

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English Coursework “Let Him Have It”                                                                                 by Hannah Wright


Let Him Have It

In this film “Let him have it” how does the director, Peter Medak, encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Derek Bentley and his family? Refer to three specific episodes from the film in you answer.

“Let him have it” by Peter Medak is a very powerful film based on a controversial true story. The narrative is about a murder committed by Christopher Craig and Derek Bentley. Peter Medak, the Director, explained “I made this film to break hearts” and the way the scenes have been established and portrayed by the actors increase the emotional response of the viewer.

The reason that this film is so effective is due to the amount of emotion and sympathy the Director portrays towards Derek Bentley. However, the film has a distinct bias towards Derek Bentley as it follows his characterisation compared to that of the other actors. Within this essay I will draw out the techniques the Director has uses to create a truly emotive production. I have chosen three episodes from the film where I believe the Director has emphasised the sympathy towards Derek and his family most effectively; the opening chapter, this depicts Derek when he was a young boy during World War II, the murder of the police officer, this is when Derek and Chris Craig attempt to break into a premises and the hanging.

As the film opens it immediately provides the feeling of; sadness, sorrow, grief and unhappiness. The background to the credits are pitch black and the credits are written in old style, types set with white writing, establishing the feeling that the film is set in the past. The background music is sad, gentle and to some extent slightly emotional providing a sense of unhappiness. As the credits continue, the music gets louder and louder. This creates suspense in the audience, making the viewer believe that something is going to happen. The credits dissipate and then we can here bomb blasts, providing an indication that the first scene is going to be set during a war. This is effective because we can imagine the scene from the sound before we can view it.

The first scene reveals the trauma suffered by people living in London during World War II.  As the camera pans the set it shows the demolished houses and the devastated families with their personnel belongings scattered over the rubble. This creates a strong emotional response in the viewer for all of the people caught up in the air raid that has hit the street. The camera pans across a demolished house and the distraught family and then focuses into a body shot of a mother crying over her dead child. A lady calls for help, the attention is focused upon the lady shouting, “I have found him”, as they lift the rubble away, revealing Derek for the first time. The scene reveals a helpless, weak and vulnerable young boy surrounded by rubble and covered in dust. The Director increases the emotive effect of the scene by lighting the childs’ face and zooming into the boy, which then reveals blood seeping out of his ear. The boy starts to shake and fit, this completed the effect the Director was aiming for, to create the initial sympathy for Derek.  The trauma Derek experienced within the first scene could provide the reasons for his learning difficulties and disability. The Director has built this scene to explain to the audience what is happening to Derek and to create sympathy for him due to this incident, although at this stage it is unclear that he is suffering from. The Director has clearly identified this scene to underpin the whole film and I believe it provides a very descriptive and highly emotive start to the film.

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The film transports the viewer to when Derek was 19 years old, this is expertly delivered by focusing in on Derek in the rubble, followed by a close up of Derek as a teenager and pans out to show who he is with.  The boys are about to break into an old persons shed, the mood is sad and sombre. The music is slow and deliberate, using the ‘miner keys’ making this scene uncomfortable and provides the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Then you see the boys breaking into the old person’s sheds, the lighting suggests Derek’s ...

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