Film Analysis - Week 39 - Snatch (2000)

Film Analysis – Week 39

Snatch (2000) – Directed by Guy Ritchie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio Del Toro

This film is a Comedy/Crime about a few groups of people whose lives coincide and unravel in an interesting way. The film presents several unlikely groups of people who each collaborate to the end goal of the film. It at many moments of the film, the characters remain separate however the filmmakers take it upon themselves to interact the characters in fun and unique ways. All of the characters become linked through one stolen flawless diamond, the greed and lust that circles the characters is what draws them together. Each group is a rag tag bunch of men that each have their own flaws and skills. They are characterised as a Russian, amateur robbers, boxing promoters, gypsies and jewellers.  The point of the film is not to promote a moral message, but to make fun of the economy of thieves and criminals. Each groups becomes tangled in a large web that grows the more that join it. The film explores themes of theft, violence, exploitation and deception.

The film uses a very unique editing style, popularised by filmmakers such as Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright. This encompasses a very fast paced and snappy style that enables the filmmakers to get their point across without having any of the fluff in between. This technique is often used in action or comedy films as it keeps the ball rolling and doesn’t let the audience rest with a somewhat boring transitional scene where the characters travel from one place to another. For example, in the film, a character travels from New York to London and back. This is done in a matter of seconds rather than showing scene of a generic airport, plane, and the over used aerial shot of a car going across a bridge. These elements brought together in a new light such as the way done in this film keeps the audience on alert. This also encompasses the cinematography style of the film, which is used a comedic way to, through extreme close ups, to emphasise the character’s plane journey.

The film reinforces stereotypes in order to create comedic events. The film’s use of ‘pikey’s’ or gypsies help to reinforce the common stereotype that goes along with a untrustworthy catalyst. They are the most influential factor in the film for the protagonist Turkish (Jason Statham), as each thing they do influences the plot which in turn creates the rest of the ripple effect throughout the entire film. A scene in particular establishes the affect each character has one another by replaying the same scene 3 times, but each from a different character groups’ perspective. The demonstrates their connection but also allows the audience to fully understand the scene from various angles.