We then have a high angle shot of Gaz, Dave and Nate walking through the rundown old steel factory, which is all grey and dank to give a real contrast to the video. This contrast is connected to Tzvetan Todorov’s theory, which is that the fictional environment begins with everything is as it should be it then suffers some disruption, and a new equilibrium is produced at the end of the narrative. Gaz mentioned about the ten years that he worked in the factory and is disappointed at how rundown it has become, which shows his connection with the place. We then see a long shot the work band which shows that the steel industry was more that just a job it was a way of life to these people. Even though there is no longer any work they still enjoy getting together as friends.
The next few shots represent Gaz’s life quite well. It shows Gaz stranded on a sinking car in the middle of a river with Nate slowly edging away from him. This is actually happening because Nate is drifting towards his mother. Gaz still acts the hard guy though and does not admit defeat, even when someone strolls by he describes his situation as ‘not so bad’.
Gaz really shows that he is the ‘ladies man’ in the next scene in which, even though he is soaking wet he still rates women as he walks down the street. He then shows off in front of the women waiting for the strip show only to be shouted at by them. You can see where Gaz gets the idea for stripping from, as he must think that stripping is not only a good way to get money but also a good way to get women. We get the impression that Gaz is not very smart when he hatches a plan to Dave’s wife out of the strip club, and is pointed out by his son that it is women only. This also shows that he is a nice person at heart underneath his mean leather jacket as he is willing to risk his own neck for his friends.
When they get inside of the Men’s toilets, Gaz ends up sending Nate to get Dave’s wife. This is either because the strippers intimidate him or he is cowardly. We then discover a certain distance between Gaz and Nate because instead of following his father’s orders he goes straight to the nearest glass of beer and has a drink. Three women then enter the Men’s toilets, one of which we learn to be Dave’s wife. After some chatting, we learn that Dave and his wife are having marital problems. When they go Dave calls in enquiring about his wife. Gaz then denies seeing her so not to upset his friend. This again shows his kind side.
The jazzy music starts again as Nate and Gaz walk up the street. They use a long shot here to show the shabby state that this place is in. Gaz talks about his relationship problems and we learn that Gaz has broken up with Nate’s mother. Nate isn’t very happy with Gaz for getting him into all this trouble so Gaz makes up by promising to take him to a football match which just ends up being a Sunday league match which doesn’t impress Nate. Nate seems to be depressed because where all the other children are having fun Nate is by himself or with his troublemaking father. The last image in the first ten minutes is a close up of Gaz trying to reason with Nate through the bars of the school fence, which gives the feeling of imprisonment.
The cast of this film were intentionally chosen for being unknown actors. This was done so we would be able to relate with them more. Each of the characters has their own personality traits so you must be able to relate with at least one of them. This links in with Vladimir Propp’s theory which is that Characters have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text. There should be The Hero – a character that seeks something, The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest, The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties,
The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message, The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims, The Helper – who aids the hero,
The Princess – the reward for the hero and the victim of the villain’s plots, Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort. In The Full Monty there are fat, slim, old, young, gay, straight, black and white characters. For the first ten minutes we see Gaz’s troubles at first hand so we latch onto him and he becomes our sort of hero, yet he is not the type of person we would usually associate with being a hero. He wares a mean leather jacket; he steals from his old business, and would be willing to break the law at the drop of a hat. I suppose you could call Dave his sidekick as he is always getting himself dragged into Gaz’s stupid plans.
The soundtrack to the film is impressive with hits such as Tom Jones’ ‘You can keep your hat on’ and ‘You sexy thing’ by Hot Chocolate. The Full Monty managed to claim its only Oscar thanks to its score, which is mostly a brass band type music, which runs almost continually.
Overall, the film relies on dialogue and characterization more than on effects. The camera shots are very well thought about with lots of close-ups revealing facial expressions and emotions and there is no fancy editing, to make it seem like real life and not just a film.
Conclusion
In my opinion, The Full Monty is not one of the best films I have ever but it is all right. The acting is excellent on everyone’s behalf, especially Robert Carlyle who was very good. It is a very successful film and has even brought about its own catchphrase. I personally think that even though it might not be my favourite film but I think the whole crew did a very good job of creating a sense of social realism
