Beyond the Lights.
Key Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Gine Prince-Bythewood
Genre: Romance Drama
Themes: Relationships, Mental Health, Suicide, Fame
Release: November 2014
Budget: $7,000,000
Key Scenes:
A key scene within the film is when Noni is in her apartment and has destroyed the photos of her hanging on the wall. This is a key scene because when Kaz comes in to help her she says, ' I feel like i'm suffocating in the middle of the street and no one can see me dying". This links with what she said at the beginning of the film ("No one can see me") and suggest to the audience that in the music industry everyone ignores the problems as they can only see the person that has been made by the media. The audience before, think that being famous is the best thing in the world and that it comes with so many perks, yet this films shows the flip side to fame. This scene in particular shows to the audience that even thought there are so many eyes on Noni, no one can actually see the real her and the pain she is facing. This scene is significant because after this everything starts to change. She goes away with Kaz to get the break she needs and she starts to realise that the person she is was is not the person she wants to be and she starts to become more confident in herself.
Another important scene in this film is when Noni is performing with Kid Culprit and rather than taking off her jacket mid performance to reveal the little clothing she is wearing she keeps it on to keep herself covered. This shows to the audience that she is visibly uncomfortable with the things she has to do in order to impress everyone else. Whilst Kid Culprit is fully clothed, Noni is forced to wear only under wear on stage whilst Kid Culprit gets to use her as an (over-sexualised) object. Up until this point in the film, Noni is shown to be a sexual object by the way that she dresses and the way she acts in her music videos. Now, when she tries to go against this she gets hated on by Kid Culprit and the audience, which shows that women are made to act and look a certain way and if they don't, they are seen as not good enough. She is clearly uncomfortable with the things she has to do and shows to the audience that she doesn't want to act like the girl they see on tv, but to be just Noni.
Key Micro-features:
A key micro-feature in this film is mise-en-scene. This is significant because it juxtaposes with Noni's character. She is shown to have the perfect house, fancy cars and a private jet she can use on demand. This is important as, like i have mentioned before, the audience think that being famous and having everything makes someone happy when in fact we can see that that is not the case. By showing Noni to be unhappy and also putting an emphasis on mise-en-scene shows to the audience that although everything seems okay doesn't mean it necessarily is.
Another important micro-feature is cinematography. There is a scene towards the end of the film when she sings Blackbird and the camera focuses on Noni. This is signifiant because all the other times we have seen Noni perform it is all about the performance and the way she looks. However by the camera simply just focusing on one side of Noni shows that it is not about the way she looks or the character that she has played but it is about her and her talent. By the cinematography just showing the actual Noni makes the audience see and listen to her more. She is not hiding behind anything and she becomes like the little girl we saw at the beginning of the film.
Comparable:
This film is very similar to Bodyguard (1992) as it has the same concept of the man being the one to save and help the girl. They have similar themes in which they both address the negative issues of being famous and how it is not what it is sometimes made out to be. You could argue that Beyond the Lights is a modern day Bodyguard but I think that Beyond the Lights looks at more real life issues and it isn't about being saved from someone else, it is about being saved from yourself.
Key Micro-features:
A key micro-feature in this film is mise-en-scene. This is significant because it juxtaposes with Noni's character. She is shown to have the perfect house, fancy cars and a private jet she can use on demand. This is important as, like i have mentioned before, the audience think that being famous and having everything makes someone happy when in fact we can see that that is not the case. By showing Noni to be unhappy and also putting an emphasis on mise-en-scene shows to the audience that although everything seems okay doesn't mean it necessarily is.
Another important micro-feature is cinematography. There is a scene towards the end of the film when she sings Blackbird and the camera focuses on Noni. This is signifiant because all the other times we have seen Noni perform it is all about the performance and the way she looks. However by the camera simply just focusing on one side of Noni shows that it is not about the way she looks or the character that she has played but it is about her and her talent. By the cinematography just showing the actual Noni makes the audience see and listen to her more. She is not hiding behind anything and she becomes like the little girl we saw at the beginning of the film.Comparable:
This film is very similar to Bodyguard (1992) as it has the same concept of the man being the one to save and help the girl. They have similar themes in which they both address the negative issues of being famous and how it is not what it is sometimes made out to be. You could argue that Beyond the Lights is a modern day Bodyguard but I think that Beyond the Lights looks at more real life issues and it isn't about being saved from someone else, it is about being saved from yourself.
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