The end of lesson bell sounds but the match carries on. Time is being expressed in this part of the story maybe to show how slowly it is passing and to create tension as to who’s going to win the game. Eventually it’s all over and the boy’s race inside to the showers. Sugden watches Billy as he changes and blocks off his exit because he didn’t have a shower. Billy denies not having one and comes up with the excuse of having a cold but can’t produce a sealed letter from a legal guardian to prove it. At this point in the novel you can feel the unnecessary humiliation Sugden inflicts upon Billy as he sends him into the showers not once but twice and orders three other boys to help. This part emphasises on just what a bully Sugden is and creates sympathy as Billy suffers Sugdens taunting.
The film version of this incident is slightly different; it starts off with a distance shot of Sugden outside doing an over exaggerated warm-up. Circus fair music is being played which makes his warm-up seem very funny. As the camera gets closer you can see that Sugden is full of his own self importance as he comes over as being real big headed.
The next shot cuts to the changing room showing an over the shoulder shot of Sugden having a go at Billy for forgetting his kit. This shot gives the impression of Sugden towering over Billy and shows how small and scrawny Billy is compared to a bully like Sugden. (The size difference does not come over in the book.)
There is also a low angle shot of the boys looking in at Sugden and Billy, which creates the impression of them crowding round to watch. This shot creates sympathy for Billy as it shows the whole class watching as Sugden tares strips of him.
The shot then cuts to the outside scene where all the boys are lining up ready to be picked. It projects Billy as an isolated, pathetic figure as he’s left standing alone, waiting for his name to be called. The book tells us that Billy is picked last and this shot directs attention towards him looking alone and segregated.
The football scene is cut short in the film, I think this is to keep the story flowing as it seems to drag on a bit in the book. However the film missed out the dog scene, which portrayed Billy’s understanding of animals and how he treats them different to adults.
Throughout the football scene the camera is mostly focused on Sugden. It shows in sequence Sugden taking the penalty twice and sending a boy off for a foul he made himself, then he’s seen hitting two boys for not participating in the game properly. These shots are all designed to show him as a bully. The close ups show his facial expressions as being stern and strict. This emphasised his bulling character whereas the book can only reveal his character by how he talks and acts. Both make you dislike him.
The final scene opens with a shot of Sugden stopping Billy for not having a shower, while Billy gets undressed Sugden starts laughing with the other boys, creating pity for Billy as everyone seems to pick on him. The shot cuts to a close up of Sugden turning the shower temperature dial form hot to cold, as in the book. This is an important scene because it shows just how far Sugden will go with his self ego and the fact that no-one bothers sticks up for Billy shows how lonely he is.
The shots of Billy in the showers alone are mid shots and close ups. The close-ups show details like goose pimples and actually start to make you feel cold. The shot of him by himself make him look isolated and lonely again creating pity. This part of the story comes across a lot better in the film than in the book
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The second incident I have chosen is Billy’s talk on kes. This comes before the P.E scene in the book but after in the film. I have chosen this incident as it’s about the only time when you hear Billy talking for a long period. It shows the encouragement and attention Billy gets from Mr Farthing and other pupils who actually take interest in Billy and what he has to say.
The book starts off with Mr Farthing talking about fact and fiction, he then asks Billy for a fact about himself. At first Billy claims “I don’t know any sir”. This shows Billy lacks confidence in school because he tries to take the easy way out. Mr Farthing eventually gets him talking by asking lots of questions. Billy’s answers to the questions gradually got longer. This shows that if Billy is paid a bit of attention and given a chance he can be quite interesting and confident.
This scene in the film starts with the camera focusing on Billy Mcdowel and another pupil coming into the lesson late after being caned. You can hear Mr Farthings voice talking about fact or fiction. The camera cuts to a medium shot of Billy’s head and shows he’s not listening. Mr Farthing tells him off and unlike Sugden simply reprimands Billy while making him stand. The shot draws your attention to Billy and makes you feel sorry for him as once again he’s being put down.
The camera is focused on Casper as Mr Farthing asks Billy questions, this created tension as you waited for him to answer. The tension felt does not come over in the book. The camera then moves around the class and shows the pupils faces looking totally board. I think this shot was important because it creates pity as only Mr Farthing is listening to Billy and no one seems to show any interest in him unless he’s getting into trouble of yelled at.
The film shows that as more questions are asked, Billy answers freely with detail and begins using technical words such as Jesses and Mr Farthing gets him to the front of the class and asks him to spell the word on the blackboard. He encourages Billy by calling him an expert.
The camera cuts back to the pupils, who now look interested. This is not apparent in the book but is important, as it’s one of the only times where Billy is shown a genuine interest. When Billy finishes talking he receives a round of applause. The book says Billy “blushed”. This makes you feel very happy and sorry, as he was embarrassed because he’s never been shown that much attention.
The third and final incident I have chosen is when Billy goes to see the youth employment officer. It starts off with Billy sitting in a waiting room on his own, a mother and her son enter but don’t make much conversation with Billy. The youth employment officer is not expecting Billy but another lad as Billy ‘s appointment was scheduled for an earlier time but he never turned up. When Billy is asked about the future he claims he doesn’t know what to do and that he has no real interest or hobbies. Billy doesn’t seem interested and is eager to get out.
I have chosen this incident as it shows how the education system has let Billy down. He is not offered any form of support or encouragement from anyone, and sympathy is created knowing that Billy has no hope in the future.
In the book there are people already sitting in the waiting room when Billy goes in, but the film starts off with a central shot of Billy alone in a dim room. The film worked best as it creates sympathy by making Billy look small, frail and isolated and the dark colours created a depressing mood.
After seeing the employment officer the camera focuses on Billy walking along a dark and lonely corridor, it almost looks as if he’s swallowed as the shot gets smaller and smaller. You hear Billy getting yelled at which creates shock and makes you feel sorry for him. This scene was not apparent in the book.
The book gives lots of short sentences of speech between Billy and the employment officer, who’s expecting Walker and not Billy and then goes on to explain that Billy is late which makes you feel sorry for him because it seems he can’t do anything right.
Throughout this scene in the film alternate over shoulder shorts of each character are used showing one looking at the other. The employment officer seems to do most of the talking and struggles to get anything out of Billy, it shows that Billy is not the cleverest of people, and sympathy is created as you feel that Billy’s been let down by everyone constantly.
In both book and film when the employment officer suggests going down the pit Billy’s his immediate reaction is “I’m not gin down t’ pit “ Billy stands up and asks the employment officer if he can go? The camera focuses on the employment officer showing the reaction of disgust on his face. “What’s the matter with you lad? Sit down, I haven’t finished yet” and expressed the feeling of Billy shutting himself off as the employment officers words went over his head.
I think both book and film portrayed its characters well and created lots of sympathy for Billy in different ways, the detailed descriptions help you to build images and absorb its contents more so than watching a film scene for a few seconds and missing important details. For example reading the part about Furs Hill allows you to compare Billy’s poor living conditions and things seem worse than the film portrayed.
The film was easy to understand and changed some of the images already built when reading the book. I found that the added scene of Sugden doing a warm-up very funny, it enhanced his character by showing just how full of himself him he really was. The camera work in the film revealed the facial expressions of the characters and brought out the emotions felt whilst reading the book perfectly. For instance when kes dies you can see the sadness on Billy’s face this makes you feel engulfed with sorrow and extremely sympathetic towards him creating a real lump in the throat moment.
The novel has been adapted wonderfully using different techniques in different ways allowing both book lover and film buff to converse.