Norman!!

Norman!

Writer: Talton Wingate

Director:  Jonathon Segal

Key Cast:  Emily VanCamp, Dan Byrd. Richard Jenkins

Genre: Comedy and Drama

Themes: Romance and Family

Release: June 2010

Narrative:

The film is about a student called Norman (Dan Byrd) who pretends to be dying of cancer in order to cope with his fathers (Richard Jenkins) terminal illness. He has to lie to everyone at school including his new girlfriend (Emily VanCamp). Rather than focusing on the tragedies themselves the film is about how Norman deals with the tragedies in his life including: losing his mother in a car accident, taking care of his father and his battle with depression.

Key Scenes:

One of the main scenes within the film is at 14:00 where Norman is pushed into auditioning for the school drama club. In his audition he explains how he had a dream where he would have a whole school assembly where he defies death by smashing through fake glass but then he shoots himself in front of everyone. He later explains how he actually tried to kill himself. No one is sure if he is being serious as they all act confused. Throughout his performance he is constantly laughing to himself and smiling. This is important as it show to the audience that he does not take death seriously and that he doesn't care about the effects that it will have on other people. He feels as if no one would really miss him. This is one way in which Norman’s depression is shown to the audience.

Compare:

This film is similar to “Perks of Being a Wallflower” as they are both about how they deal with the tragedies in their life. For example Charlie in “Perks of Being a Wallflower” likes to write about his everyday life and how he feels about the events he faces. It is not about the tragedies, but the aftermath. This is similar in Norman as it also shows how he deals with the problems in his life.

Although these two films have different story lines they both have the theme of love and family. These themes are important in both films as it shows how the tragedies they have faced have affected the simple things in life like relationships.