The screenplay Shirley Valentine was written as a monologue by Willy Russell. The play set in Liverpool, which is Willy Russell’s home, tells the story of a lonely and bored housewife who is sick of the way she is treated by her narrow minded and inconsiderate husband. Using devices such as flashback the screenplay shows how Shirley becomes a confident and positive woman after traveling to Greece and fulfilling her ambitions. In this essay I will be examining how Shirley has changed during the course of the play, and how the play has been organised to show the importance of these changes.
Willy Russell has organised the use of devices so we can see how Shirley has changed over the years and how she has been effected by certain events in her life. As the opening credits are shown a song is being played. The lyrics of this song suggest this is a film about change, a change that enables Shirley to be herself. During the credits pictures are being shown the, these are pictures of Shirley doing household jobs such as washing dishes. Cleaning the house and cooking. This makes us think that the movie will be about a housewife changing to show her true self. This is a very clever use of sound and images, as it is trying to tell us about the story before it has even begun.
As the film begins the setting alone is enough to show the mood Shirley is in and set the ton for the beginning of the play. A very dull grey sky, streets, which are littered in a very working class area of Liverpool. The setting suggests that Shirley is feeling depressed and sad, which her facial expression also suggests. Willy Russell uses flashbacks in the play so the audience gets to know Shirley better. The flashbacks show us how Shirley’s personality has changed and what events have influenced that change. Such as Shirley not putting effort into school, as her teacher allways used to hurt Shirley’s confidence by putting her down. ‘A brief glance at your report confirms my suspicion you will not go far in life’. This lets the audience sympathise with Shirley, as the audience knows the reasons behind her actions. Shirley addressing the camera throughout the play makes the audience feel involved as she is talking directly at you. This is a good way for the audience to relate to Shirley’s situation and what she has on her mind. This shows how her perspective on life changes later during the play and how her feelings and confidence have changed. Addressing the camera also explains to us the reasons for why she is feeling a certain way. The structure of the play is set out so the audience sees the gradual change of Shirley and the order of events in her life. The structure also shows how gradually Shirley loses confidence and pretends to be someone else, the way it is structured also give us a better understanding of the flash backs and her feelings.
