The next scene in which medak creates sympathy for the viewer is Derek's meeting at the approved school. The scene starts with the camera slowly zooming in and revealing Derek sitting on his own in the hallway. The audience sympathises for Derek as he looks nervous and unsettled. He portrays this by fidgeting around and having a troubled look upon his face. The camera then pans around Derek, moves into the room next to him and then focuses on the headmaster. The principle then describes Derek as someone of low intelligence and also states that it will be difficult for him to fit in due to his epilepsy. The camera then does a close up of Derek outside and shows how hurt Derek is. This greatly creates consideration from the audience and once again emotionally engages them. The music at this point is slow and soothing, which makes the viewer sympathise for him even more. It also creates a sad and cold atmosphere. Medak has very cleverly told the audience a great deal about Derek in this scene. He has showed how Derek has had a rough childhood by not settling in due to his epilepsy. Medak has highlighted how differently he was treated by those outside his family and finally the problems that his father may have in looking after him.
Throughout the film, Medak continuously reminds us of Derek's condition and the difficulty he has performing simple tasks. In this scene Derek hasn’t left his house for a year. When the audience discover this, great sympathy is given as the ability of going outdoors is a luxury taken for granted. After constant persuasion by his sister, Derek finally leaves the house. Medak directs Derek to look as if he’d never seen outside before. He accomplishes this by walking slightly hunched, his head held low and also staying very close to his sister. This is very effective in gaining the viewers sympathy and emphasises the fact that it is such a big step for Derek. The more time he spends outside, Derek's confidence increases drastically to the point where he can walk through the street without being afraid. But, Medak then reminds us of how he struggles to do simple things as Derek can’t remember an order he places at the butchers. Additionally, he pays with the wrong coupon and the audience once again greatly sympathise. The camera subsequently does a close up of Derek and once again reveals him looking hurt and upset. This once more increases the viewer’s commiseration.
The scene in which Derek and Craig meet at the railway station is a crucial part in the film. Medak has directed the character playing Craig to be very influential and mysterious. He does this by pretending to be run over by a train. This also shows the audience how cold hearted he is. Craig also seems influential by the way he speaks. He is directed to be very confident and certain about himself. Derek on the other hand, is quite the opposite as he is directed to be shy and vulnerable. He portrays this by looking terrified. This greatly highlights the contrast between the two characters. We also sympathise for Derek as his confidence had just been increasing but are now shattered again. We know he lost his confidence as he resorted to swearing in an attempt for Craig to retreat. Medak has very cleverly had fast, strong music playing to make the atmosphere tenser.
The subsequent scene in which we feel sympathy for Bentley is when his dad opens his present; stolen cigarettes. Derek tried to do a nice thing, by getting his dad a present, but ended up making him disappointed. This also brings Derek's naivety to the attention of the audience as a normal nineteen year old would have known about the sign at the bottom of the cigarettes. Later on in this scene Bentley lied to his dad about where he got the blue jacket from. As Bentley walked away, the camera slowly did a close up of his face and showed how he was disappointed. Medak has done this to gain our empathy and also to show that Derek knows what he is doing is wrong. The reason I think Medak chose to do this scene was because it shows that Derek still greatly loves his father. It also shows that Derek has started lying to his father which is the first sign of him changing.
The scene which shows Derek getting an epilepsy test for the army greatly gains the audience’s sympathy. Medak directs Derek to appear scared as he’d had the test before and therefore knows what the outcome will be, but has the test anyway. When he is having the fit, the camera slowly zooms in to Bentley's face and the music is fast and strong beated. This is done to achieve even more of the audience’s sympathy. I think medak has included this scene to demonstrate the eagerness of Derek wanting to be normal.
Medak uses the scene of Derek having a fit in the car, to once again create empathy from the audience and to remind us of his epilepsy. In the build up to the scene, we see Craig's brother getting arrested and a close up on to Bentley’s horrified face. This creates sympathy towards him as he starts to realise which people he has got involved with. When the boys then got into the taxi, the contrast between the two characters is greatly stressed. Craig is cool and calm by joking with the taxi driver and making fun of his cab. Derek however is anxious and nervous by staying silent and taking deep, heavy breaths. The fit is well portrayed by Bentley’s actor as it shows the state of his condition and generates a great deal of emotion. The music at the point of the fit is once again fast and heavy beated. This is done to make the atmosphere tenser. When Christopher Craig calls on Derek's door and his dad comes to the cab to control Derek, he speaks to his son as if nothing is wrong. Medak has done this to illustrate the fact that he is accustomed to Derek's fits.
One of the events that changed Derek’s life was the shooting on the roof top. This scene greatly gained the viewers sympathy and Medak cleverly made the whole scene dramatic. The lead up to the roof top gave the viewers hints that something was going to go horribly wrong. The first hint was Craig’s brother being arrested. This almost shows a mirror image towards Craig. The second hint was Derek stealing keys which shows he is willing to do anything to be part of a gang, even if it means robbing a friend. The final hint was seeing the butcher in the shop and the other two gangsters leaving; except Craig and Derek.
At the roof top the contrast between the characters is clearly stated by Medak. When they realise the police is after them the only thing in Craig’s mind is to hide. However, all Derek can think about is his family and especially his dad. This is shown when he is directed to say ‘My dad is going to kill me!’ This also creates great sympathy from the audience. When Derek and Craig go and hide behind the wall, once again Derek is shaky and Craig is calm. This is shown as Craig is smiling and happy while Derek is on the verge of crying. As soon as Craig shouts to the police, Derek is frightened of going to jail and so starts a fight with Craig. This also shows how insecure Derek is.
As soon as Craig pulls out the gun, Derek is frightened and therefore keeps a distance from him. This is cleverly done by Medak as it shows he’d rather be with the police man who he had just met than Craig who he’d known prior to the incidence. When Derek shouts ‘let him have it Chris’ and Craig shoots, the audience are briefly shocked as they know Derek would not have wanted anyone to get hurt. The camera then does a close up of Bentley and shows us his horrified face. The audience then realise he didn’t mean for Craig to shoot the policeman but to give the policeman the gun. This generates great sympathy from the audience. When Derek is under arrest we again feel empathy towards him as we see the way he’s been treated and how he doesn't react at all. The scene in which Craig kills the police man is cleverly directed by Medak. The music dramatically stops and Derek’s face was horror-struck. This also makes us sympathise immensely as we know he would be in a great deal of trouble.
The court scene was one of the most dramatic parts of the film; it was bias. At the beginning of the case, the first bias point made was Bentley mentally supported Craig during the shooting. This makes the viewer emphasise for Derek as that statement was incorrect. Also, the defenders lawyer and the judge made it difficult for Derek when he had the chance to defend himself. This was also in favour of the defendant. They did this by twisting Bentley's words and expecting Derek to answer back immediately. This made Derek appear guilty in front of the jury. The audience then sympathised even more for Derek when Craig was treated nicely in the witness box and he was the one that shot the police man. This is another bias action taken against Bentley. When the verdict was given out and Derek was sentenced to death, the audience once again felt immense understanding towards Derek. This was enhanced as the camera did a close up and then saw that he was petrified. We felt even more sympathy towards Derek when we saw his mum and sister burst into tears.
While Derek was in prison and the family came to visit, Derek made comments about each person. For his dad he said, ‘there’s pops again, gritting his teeth.’ This shows he still cares about his dad and his opinions. Then, he started saying things like ‘I’m not scared to die’ and ‘does it hurt to die?’ This shows his concern for himself as well as his family. The questions that he asked remind us of his simplicity and create empathy from the audience.
During the execution, everything happened rapidly. At precisely nine o clock, he was hung with a bag over his head and before we knew it, he dies. This emphasised the cruelty of capital punishment and also makes the audience feel sorry for the way Derek’s life turned out. At the end of the film it shows Derek’s family crying and sobbing over capital punishment. This also shows how Capital Punishment can change families forever. This is another point Medak was determined to set by directing this film. The last shot of the movie was a crane shot of Derek’s street. This is almost a flash back on his very short life.
I think the main statements that Medak makes are the error of capital punishment and the innocence of a vulnerable Derek. This is done by Medak being bias towards Derek by continuously showing him in a sympathetic light and greatly exaggerating his disability and vulnerability. I personally feel that Medak was successful in making these points as he used clever techniques such as silent music and close ups to make the audience sympathise much further for Derek. The fact that the film is a true story is undoubtedly a unique selling point and is more likely to capture and sustain the audience’s emotions as they know that someone was treated in such an unfair and unjust way.