wild bill ©The Works UK Distribution Works ©The DirecteD by: Dexter Fletcher certificate: 15 running time: 94 mins country: UK year: 2012 KeyworDs: British film, crime, London, Olympics, society, representation of gender and class, genre, homage suitable for: 14–19 media/film studies www.filmeducation.org 1 ©Film Education 2012. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external sites synopsis Bill has just been released from prison after serving eight years for a series of violent offences. He hasn’t seen his two sons Dean and Jimmy (now fifteen and eleven) in all that time, and their mother has recently abandoned them too. But Bill soon finds he is neither needed nor wanted; Dean resents him and Bill’s old criminal pals don’t want him jeopardising their operations. When social services threaten to take his boys into care, Bill decides to change his ways but with a gang of local drug-dealers using Jimmy in their schemes, Bill may have to resort to his violent ways, risking a return to prison, in order to keep his sons safe. before Viewing Director DeXter fletcHer Wild Bill is the first directorial feature of British actor Dexter Fletcher. A hugely accomplished debut, it is clear that Fletcher’s many years on sets, as an actor from a young age has influenced his film. He has worked with a range of directors such as David Lynch (Elephant Man), Alan Parker (Bugsy Malone), Hugh Hudson (Revolution), Derek Jarman (Caravaggio), Ken Russell (Gothic), Michael Winterbottom (Jude), Mike Leigh (Topsy Turvey), Paul W. S. Anderson (The Three Musketeers) and perhaps most famously with Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn. That’s quite a film education! Actors-turned-directors (such as George Clooney and Peter Berg) have reputations as being good directors of actors. Fletcher has assembled a fantastic cast in Wild Bill, some of whom he has worked with before and who have experience of films set in east London. ■ What films of Ritchie’s and Vaughn’s have Fletcher featured in? Which of those films may have had an influence on the genre, setting and tone of Wild Bill? ■ Find out where the following Wild Bill cast members have previously appeared. Which of their performances in previous films may have prompted Fletcher to cast them? - Will Poulter - Charlie Creed-Miles - Andy Serkis - Liz White - Jason Flemyng - Iwan Rheon - Marc Warren - Jaime Winstone ©The Works UK Distribution Works ©The www.filmeducation.org 2 ©Film Education 2012. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external sites after Viewing opening seQuence Dexter Fletcher has cited Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time In The West as one of his favourite films and it, and the western genre as a whole, is an influence on Wild Bill. Even the title evokes memories of legendary gunfighter and gambler ‘Wild Bill Hickok’, portrayed by Jeff Bridges in Walter Hill’s Wild Bill (1995). Though set in east London, the visual conventions of the western are homaged throughout this modern-day Wild Bill. ■ Discuss how the camera position, shot types, sound and mise en scène of the following shots during the opening sequence recall the western genre and its conventions: - Bill leaving jail - the title card - tracking shot of Bill walking down the road - the score - long shot of Bill on the ferry wilD bill – a western in Disguise? The characters and narrative framework of Wild Bill also recall western stereotypes. ■ Look at the list of western conventions below – how do they appear in Wild Bill and what effect do they have? Are these conventions followed, or subverted and if so, how? Did you spot any others? - a stranger arrives in town - the stranger has no name, or, goes by an alias - the stranger is proficient when it comes to violence, but may be deficient in other ways - the stranger runs afoul of the local villains - the stranger is given advice by friendly locals - the stranger begins a relationship with a woman – she may be an outcast herself, a prostitute or considered ‘damaged goods’ - the stranger realises (perhaps against his will) that he can help the townspeople and ‘clean up the town’ by defeating the villain – but that it may be at a cost to himself - there is a violent showdown - equilibrium is restored - the stranger leaves on horseback ©The Works UK Distribution Works ©The www.filmeducation.org 3 ©Film Education 2012. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external sites wilD bill – an olympic Document Viewed after the London 2012 Olympics, Wild Bill is a stark reminder of the cultural and economic tensions inherent in the area surrounding the Olympic site. The partly constructed Olympic stadium is clear in the background of many shots, juxtaposing Britain’s hopefulness and its bleakness. Dean even works on the site – ‘build me a velodrome’ - shouts his boss as Dean wastes time. ■ What narrative and metaphorical function do you think the Olympic Stadium/site has in the film? ■ What is the significance in the film of Dean working on the site? ■ Investigate the reaction of local residents to the Olympic building developments. representation Many of the characters in Wild Bill find themselves performing duties normally associated with other stereotypes. Ultimately, everyone in Bill’s family must find their own role within the unit before equilibrium is established. Many other groups and institutions are represented in Wild Bill’s large community of characters too. ■ What role has Dean had to adapt to in the absence of his mum and dad? What things is he soon doing that you wouldn’t expect of a fifteen-year-old? ■ To what extent might the representations of women and teenage girls be stereotypical, negative or problematic? Use examples in your answer. ■ How are Russians and Eastern Europeans represented? What typical issues are they associated with? ■ How is violence depicted? Consider how regretful Bill is of his time in prison when you think about your answer. ■ As Bill begins to make a real effort as a father, how are Dean and Jimmy’s lives changing in other ways? What is Jimmy doing as Bill makes his first cooked dinner? ■ To what extent is the depiction of social services helpful and realistic? ©The Works UK Distribution Works ©The www.filmeducation.org 4 ©Film Education 2012. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external sites interteXtuality in tHe final scene As well as Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Dexter Fletcher featured in another British gangster classic – 1980s The Long Good Friday. The film concerns a London crime lord called Harold Shand and shows his descent as his empire is beginning to crumble. Shand realises just how defeated he is in the film’s famous closing shot. Featuring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and a very early appearance from Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, the sequence is directly referenced at the close of Wild Bill. Find a copy of the film and view this final sequence. ■ Why do you think the final sequence of The Long Good Friday is considered one of the best endings ever? Consider performance and editing. ■ Compare and contrast it to the last shots of Wild Bill, as Bill is led away in the back of a police car. ■ What other notable scene featuring a long take do you remember in the Wild Bill film and perhaps from other films too? ■ What emotions do you feel the film’s ending was intended to evoke? actiVities Present to your class an argument that makes the case for Wild Bill as one of the following genres. Highlight key scenes, character types and examples of when these conventions may be subverted: - comedy - drama - romance - gangster movie - modern-day western practical The endings of The Long Good Friday and Wild Bill show a character going through a range of emotions in just one shot. Create a film sequence that features this or that has a key sequence that is captured in one long take. What practical considerations do you have to take into consideration that may not be quite so crucial in a more conventional sequence? Written by Gareth C. Evans www.filmeducation.org 5 ©Film Education 2012. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external sites.