How does Peter Medak gain the viewers' sympathy for Derek Bently in the film

All the way through the film, sympathy for Derek is built up. At the beginning of the film there is a scene outside his London home in 1941. There has been a bomb raid and Derek's house has been hit. Low-key lighting is used as a contrast to the flames. Very deliberate sound effects are used e.g. the screen is black at the beginning and all you can hear is bombs falling and exploding, one by one. When the air raided street scene is revealed there is the constant sound of sirens to signify emergency and danger. People's voices are heard one after another so you can hear each person's desperate cries. Panning shots are used to show the whole of the decimated street. Then there is a close up of Derek's sister screaming and people frantically removing bricks to reveal Derek trapped under the rubble having an epileptic fit with blood trickling down his face. This is an immediately hard-hitting scene and gives the viewer an early sign that life may not be easy for Derek. The next scene provoking sympathy is when Derek is with his friends vandalising a shed although Derek himself does not vandalise anything. Derek's friends are shown dunking the owner's sandwiches into some coffee. Derek then picks up the sandwich and eats it. This shows that he does not really understand what is happening and highlights his younger mental age. The owner of the shed sees the boys and they run off but Derek is to slow and unable to escape. There is again low-key lighting to represent danger and tension. Derek is very scared and collapses into another fit. In 1951 Derek is released from approved school early because of his low intelligence. The scene in which Derek's father is told of this again provokes sympathy. While Derek's father and the headmaster discuss the matter, Derek is shown sitting outside the door silhouetted against the otherwise very low-key lighting. There is a close up of Derek's face with the voices of the headmaster and Derek's father in the background. Derek has a very empty and helpless expression on his face that makes viewers feel sorry for him. Derek was most vulnerable in his childhood which is why this period is used a lot to gain sympathy.

When Derek and Christopher Craig are on the warehouse roof surrounded by police the viewer is made to feel sympathetic towards Derek because he didn't know that any trouble would come of what he was doing. He didn't realise the consequences. He attempted to persuade Christopher Craig not to go up onto the roof showing his innocence and inability to make his own decisions. When he first realises the police are going to catch him, instead of being worried about getting arrested and going on trial, he says, "my dad is going to kill me". This once again reminds us of Derek's childlike look on life and low intelligence. The words "Let him have it Chris!" spoken by Derek when Christopher shoots the police officer are key to the interpretation of Derek's character because it could be taken as meaning give the gun to the police officer. Alternatively it could be seen as an incitement to make Christopher shoot the policeman. Although the viewer does not know for sure how he means these words, the rest of the film and Derek's character point towards him trying to make Chris hand the gun over to the police.

During the trial Derek is shown with his head down looking very nervous and scared. When he is called to the witness box Derek again finds it hard to look at the people in the room. He is asked questions that he does not understand so he gets very worked up and repeatedly says "NO" as an answer to every question. This reinforces Derek's low intelligence and lack of understanding of the legal process so he is unable to defend himself in any way. There is a close up of Derek looking agitated and him looking around the court. The camera shot then switches to panning as though the viewer is looking through Derek's eyes around the courtroom at the expressions on everyone's faces. Derek is found guilty but the jury also felt sorry for him and gave a recommendation for mercy. There are horrified cries from the room to increase the feeling of shock in the viewers' mind. As Derek is sent down to his cell, there is a low angle shot of Derek walking down into the dark cells with the light of the courtroom behind him. This represents that hope is gone and there is no going back.

There was much support for Derek Bently from his local area and people from all around the country who could see how wrong it would be for Derek to be found guilty of this charge. His support was spear headed by his family. His family is all portrayed as very protective of Derek and does not want him to come to any harm. His dad is hard but loving and caring when it comes to protecting him. Derek's sister is the opposite of her brother. She is confident and popular. Every time she is shown with Derek she is trying to cheer him up and bringing some hope and light into his life.

Before Derek is executed he reads out a letter to his mother which the policeman writes down. When it is finished there is a close up of Derek signing his name on the letter. He writes slowly like a young child. This is again to show that Derek did not have a mental age with the intelligence to understand his position and the seriousness of the allegations that faced him. This gives another sense of injustice and creates more sympathy for Derek. Then as the time of the execution approaches, Derek is quickly grabbed halfway through his prayer, which again is a symbol of unfairness. The scene of the execution is very quick and rushed. It is done this way to increase the dramatic impact and it could also be to show that the people involved in the execution don't feel right about it so want it to be over and done with as soon as possible. At the end of the scene there is a low angle shot of Derek hanging, dead. This is very hard hitting and upsetting because the viewer has got to know Derek's character so well. The viewer ends up knowing that what happened was very wrong and almost feeling angry with what happened.

The film's message is that Derek Bently was wrongly executed and a lot of pain came out of it. Also in a broader sense I think it is saying that capital punishment is wrong or at least that the decision should be taken more seriously and the consequence should be taken into account.

I think Peter Medak gets his message across successfully. He does very well in making the viewer think carefully about capital punishment and develop their views on the issue by making them feel a little of the emotion felt by those involved in an execution.