Derek’s first crime was as a child when he broke into someone’s shed with his friends and had an epileptic fit resulting in him being caught. Peter Medak makes use of close-ups once again when Derek has the epileptic fit so that we can see his expression clearly making us fear and sympathise for him. For this crime Derek was sent to Borstal. This was the first example of Derek being wrongly accused and being a victim. We see Derek leaving Borstal with his dad, walking from the darkness out into the light as if walking out to freedom. Peter Medak uses a long shot here so we can see the sense of relief and hope to be free once again.
Derek Bentley is played by Christopher Eccleston. Christopher Eccleston, who is very big and looks strong, accentuates the weakness of Derek’s character as he is two different extremes as Derek’s character is very shy and childlike. It is as if he is like a child in a grown-ups body.
Derek lived with his parents and didn’t leave the house ever. He dressed very similarly to them, which shows how close he was with them and how much they influenced him. Iris, his sister who was also very close with him, encouraged him to go out and face the world, to buy himself a record. We see a Birdseye shot, looking down on Derek and Iris talking on Derek’s bed, making them seem isolated. Iris opens Derek’s curtains, letting in light. It is as though she is showing Derek the world outside that he is missing out on, letting the light in to try and make things better, encouraging him to venture out of the house.
The song ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is used as a recurring motif throughout the film as we hear it many times. It relates to Derek’s life and the theme of the film, how you don’t know what the outcome will be. The song links to fate as it sings about a wheel of fortune, as if to say Derek’s life is unpredictable and unknown, just like if you were to spin the wheel of fortune.
When Derek meets Christopher Craig you can straight away see a contrast in their personality and behaviour. Chris is full of confidence and is even slightly cocky. He wears black, smart, stylish clothing, like those worn by a typical gangster whereas Derek wears old-fashioned, sensible, unfashionable clothes. This shows us a lot about their characters. They show that Derek is shy, lonely and influenced greatly by his parents and that Christopher is rebellious, bold and confident. Paul Reynolds, who plays Christopher Craig, is a great contrast to Christopher Eccleston, who plays Derek Bentley. Paul Reynolds is quite small and childish/cheeky compared to Christopher Eccleston who is big and strong looking. Craig brings Bentley into the rest of his ‘gang’, which all dress and speak similarly to Craig. We begin to see a slight change in Derek’s character after he begins to spend time with the ‘gang’. He begins to dress differently and gets a new haircut yet he still looks different from the other gang members as he wears a baby blue coat, symbolising youth, and everyone else is wearing black. This is as if to say Derek will always be different from everyone else. Derek looks out of place, as though he is trying to fit in with these people. Also Derek becomes more confident and out-going as he spends more time with Chris’s gang.
Lighting is used symbolically when Derek is talking from his bedroom window to Chris. Derek is in the light symbolising the safeness of his own home behind him and Chris is out in the dark representing the dangers outside with Craig. Derek’s father shows his disapproval of Derek’s new friends and asks Derek about his change in clothes and hairstyle. We can tell from this that his father is worried and concerned for Derek and we share his father’s concerns.
When Craig and Bentley are on the roof, where they commit the crime they are convicted for, we are conscious that Bentley is not fully aware of the situation he has got himself in. Derek suggests that they leave and give up but Craig is insistent on doing the job and therefore, because he would not speak out against Chris, Derek follows. This is scene is very dark with loud gunshots making it more tense and scary.
When Derek cries out “Let him have it Chris” we immediately suspect just from the sort of person Derek is, how he says it, and the fact Derek didn’t know Chris was carrying a gun that Derek means give him the gun not shoot him. Our suspicions are then confirmed when Chris does shoot a police officer accidentally and we are shown a close up of the shock and horror in Derek’s face and the fact that Derek rushes over to check if the policeman is alright and does not struggle at all or try to escape when he is caught.
When Craig and Bentley are in trial the camera pans across the faces of the jury showing all of their disapproving looks. It looks as though they have already decided their verdict of guilty. When Derek is being cross-examined we see how nervous and afraid he is and he is unable to answer. He gets upset, agitated and stressed out because of this, which makes us feel sorry for him. We are shown close-ups on Derek’s face as he is being questioned so that we can see all the emotion, confusion and frustration on his face.
We are shown more close-ups of the Judge’s stern face as the he gives his verdict. This creates more tension and shows the anticipation of the verdict from everyone in the room. When the sentence of death is given to Derek we see the drain of hope from his face and the sheer horror of his sentence. Then we are shown his family and others in court. Their reaction makes us sympathise with Derek as we see how horrified everyone is to hear the sentence, showing that they believe he is innocent. Even the wife of the policeman who was killed thinks Derek is innocent. We feel angry towards Chris, as he was too young for the death penalty so he escaped with imprisonment but as Derek is older he received the death sentence. This makes us blame Chris and see it as unfair for him to escape with a lighter punishment when we believe it should be the other way around.
After Bentley goes to prison there is a use of pathetic fallacy, as the lighting is constantly dark, dingy, depressive light, expressing the way everyone is feeling. His parents try so hard to get him released, with which they are not successful, and we see just how upset his family are when they visit him in prison. We are shown a close-up of Iris’s eye that shows her emotion and makes you feel extremely sorry for both Derek and his family.
Peter Medak increases the build-up and tension towards the execution. He shows a Birdseye shot of Derek’s family in their home, emphasising the isolation and loneliness felt by them. The lighting is kept very dark for the lead-up to the execution.
The death scene, which I felt was the most effective at making us feel sympathy towards Derek, is quite brief. We are shown protesters, Derek’s family and friends all crying, all believing he is being wrongfully punished showing us how many people are affected by his sentence. Sound is an important aspect of this scene. The most symbolic use of sound is the clock chime when it is time for the execution because Derek’s family are waiting together at home and hear the clock meaning the time has come and that their son/brother is about to be hung. It symbolises the end of Derek’s life. Derek wears his baby blue jacket for the execution, which was one of the first changes he made when he met Craig. Even the prison guards are emotional for the execution, as they believe he is innocent too. Derek is taken along the corridor. As he goes he stumbles and we see it from his point of view as they put the bag over his head. The execution is very quick and shocking, showing how brutal and undignified the death penalty is. We see the trapdoor be opened and see Derek fall to his death. Peter Medak then uses a very effective use of light and camera travelling up showing you the full length of Derek and then going up into the ceiling. This is as if we are following Derek’s spirit up into heaven. The final shot of the film begins with a long shot of Derek’s street, showing us where it all began. The camera then gives us a point-of-view shot, walking us through Derek’s house, once again as though we are Derek’s spirit, through to where his family are all hugging and crying.
I feel that this film was very effective and was trying to get across the negative side of capital punishment. I think Peter Medak is successful in delivering this message as it makes you feel sympathy towards Derek for being wrongfully accused and makes you think of how many other people have been killed wrongfully. It is a very bias film though considering it only shows you the bad/wrong side of capital punishment.
