Look Deeper

(Deeper Dive into Movie Critiquing)

I’ve always liked to look at films beyond what I see on screen. The whole process of Film from script writing, to production, then to post production, is something I’ve always found rather fun to dive deeper into. So learning how to critique a film as one of the topics I’m taking up has increased my interest in creating movies and storytelling. Taking up movie critiquing I’ve come to learn these five important elements in film, which are plot, structure, characters, dialogue and scenes. These five elements are what critics look at as they assess a film and I wanted to share with my fellow storytellers the importance of these elements.

First is the Plot. After watching an entire film you look at the general picture of it, was it predictable or unpredictable. Were there shocking events mixed in? Did you see if the story corresponded to the characters' motivations? Second, is to look at the structure of the film. This is where you look at the exposition, rising action, the climax, the falling action and how the film ended etc. You ask yourself, was it tied together well? These are crucial parts to look at, but just like the importance of the plot the character is the next thing.

So third is we look at the character and how the film showcases his or her beliefs, morals etc. There is no need to analyze too deeply but what a critique focuses on as well are simple things like the characters dress, speech, and when interacting with other characters. As they say the better the characters are developed, the more character-driven the story is. With interaction as the focus, you begin to center your attention to the dialogue as well.

So fourth is the dialogue, what is the character saying and does it flow naturally or not. It’s also important to catch their words and see how the characters respond on scene to what’s being said. This lastly leads to the fifth scene. This is the general idea or tone you get from the film, you begin to focus on how the actors portrayed their roles. You begin to ask yourself, were the scenes smooth? Did it build a chain that made up the story?

As you can see, critiquing is all about asking the right questions or coming up with more questions to have a better understanding of the “art” that was produced. Having learned this has given me a different perspective on how you can look at films. I now see critiquing as a way to understand and get into the shoes of the creator of the film and see the message beneath and what they are trying to say. The process of going deeper and understanding the message has gotten me even more excited about Film!