How does the director manipulate the audience’s reactions in the court scene of the film, “Let him have it”

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Sarah Webb.

How does the director manipulate the audience’s reactions in the court scene of the film, “Let him have it”

The director of the film “ Let him have it” manipulates the audience cleverly throughout the court scene by using many techniques to influence the audience’s reactions in the court scene. He use costumes, the arrangement of the courtroom, sound types and volumes and also filming techniques, taking shots from angles and also zooming in and out.

        These different factors enable the audience to get a clearer interpretation of what is happening in the courtroom and how the various people in the scene react in the many different situations presented to them in that scene.

        The director uses costume to influence the audience throughout the scene; he uses different styles and colours of costume in order to show how different Bentley is from the surrounding people. The courtroom is filled with people wearing dark, sombre coloured suits (mainly blacks and browns) however Bentley is still wearing the light blue jacket that Craig’s gang gave to him. As he sits behind the rails in the courtroom he stands out more than anyone else in the room. The only other person wearing colourful clothing in the room is the Judge in his scarlet and purple robes; these make him look imposing and almost regal and also show how important he is. He stands out to the audience as he is brightly coloured and is also sitting on a raised podium. The director has done this in order that the audience recognises the authority of his character.

        The bright colouring of Bentley’s jacket makes it easy for the audience to see where he is but also makes Bentley stand out and look vulnerable, he appears as an obvious target because he is easy to pick out from the crowd. It also shows how Bentley does not conform to the other people that surround him, the director has obviously portrayed him as different to the others around him, Bentley does not fit in and this is shown clearly in his dress in the courtroom.

        The director has also put Craig and Bentley behind a high railing, this makes it seem as if their fate is already sealed, that they are already behind bars and this fact makes the audience feel pity for both Craig and Bentley.

        Around Craig and Bentley are seated the spectators and the police. The director has arranged the courtroom in such a way that it resembles an old Greek amphitheatre with curved, tiered seating which is all looking down upon the stands. The director makes this fact apparent at the very beginning of the scene by panning around the courtroom in order to show the layout of the seating to the audience.

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        The director’s amphitheatre-like arrangement of the courtroom causes the audience to worry about the outcome of the trial, as many people ended up dead in the old Grecian tragedies.

        The director has probably instructed the actors on how to act this particular part of the scene and Derek Bentley’s family are seated just one row above him, his mother and sister look almost as nervous and panic-stricken as Bentley himself, whereas his father merely looks angry with him. The expressions of the family cause the audience to feel pity for them as they did nothing to deserve the trial and ...

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