So the royal wedding is over, the celebration of a resurrected Jesus (has he?) has taken place and it is back to work for all of us (bar the students and unemployed). This also means some of you may already have had the pleasure of seeing many of the latest trailers out there. But just in case you have not been so lucky, let me recommend (or disapprove of) a few examples...
HESHER
Directed by Spenser Susser.
Starring Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu and Piper Laurie.
Hesher has a good trailer. It does. It is very well put together, it is funny, it is compelling. Why the choice of such a straight and narrow, down-the-line manner of selling a movie? Perhaps this is the style of the film itself, in which case – fair enough. It saddens me a bit though.
With such a film, you would ideally like to be thrown in the deep end and be shocked, not chaperoned into the edit. The depiction of the narrative is straight down the line with no twists. The opening 30 seconds are very good; extremely well-crafted, tight, expository but not in a patronising way and it brings us gently into the movie.
I guess it takes a certain type of film to pull off this type of trailer making; a film that can bear it without making it boring: a film for which that style will make sense.
Indeed, the particular use of lines and images chosen make for its originality. Those very particular moments, whether they be the best ones in the film or not, genuinely work. It is very structured, nicely cut and thoroughly entertaining because although its form is perhaps predictable, the content really is not.
The one bizarre thing about this trailer (yup, there is one!) is the mood switch around 1 min 45secs in. It is peculiar but not unjustified. The film makers and distributors seem to want to reach as wide an audience as possible, hence the mood change to attract more people. I applaud this approach as it is not used enough.
All in all, there is something about this trailer that makes you forgive its lack of ingenuity. I was entertained throughout and thus am satisfied, yet a little disappointed. I guess I should not always demand too much of the trailers I watch. 7/10
CIRCUMSTANCE
Directed by Maryam Keshavarz.
Starring Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy and Reza Sixo Safai.
And when I don’t, when I have no expectations, no idea what I am about to delve into: this is when I truly feel I find the real gems. Circumstance genuinely took me by surprise. For this simple trailer needs no form of originality in order to get the message across.
The excellent and grasping opening line catches the viewer’s attention instantly and the rest of the trailer holds it there, through a steady and not overtly rushed pace. It manages to explain the story without even hinting at the film’s final resolution and creates a dramatic, tight and intense trailer. It is engaging and it works. Nothing special, but presents it as something different and special, something you must see!
There are no hurried montages, no epic soundtracks. It takes its time all the way through, and when you were most expecting a montage towards the end, there is none and gives space and presents the movie, rather than sell it.
I will admit – on the outside, this is the type of film and thus trailer that will mainly attract avid film fans, women and people interested in homosexuality and foreign cultures. It is hardly going to compel your average 15-year-old Playstation-loving young man (unless they are up for watching a bit of woman on woman action. Oh God, is this Black Swan all over again?).
Nonetheless, the trailer does as much for it as it can: despite the unusual plot, the trailer (fairly) neutrally presents and shows the film as it is, without attempting to draw in particular people. 7/10
CINEMA VERITE
Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.
Starring Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini, Thomas Dekker and Kathleen Quinlan.
Mistake no. 1 of trailer making: do not choose music too easily recognised from other films. Your audience will associate it with something else and it will diminish your chance of getting people to buy your product. I am not thinking of arias from La Bohème, Jingle Bells or the like. I am talking about actual music composed for other TV shows or films. Like in this instance the soundtrack to American Beauty (among others).
Your audience will not be able to dissociate themselves from the original product so you have already compromised your chances. This is the first issue with the trailer for Cinéma Vérité.
Issue no. 2: the cut is lazy and the scenes are too long. Yes, it is for a TV film (a HBO production, might I add!) but promo-making still needs to be poignant and on the money. This is not. The lines are weak (perhaps this just reflects the quality of the film itself?) and badly chosen (e.g. Diane Lane in her “I don’t wanna give you the wrong impression” bedroom scene). It makes for a dull edit, with nothing else really winning over the audience.
It is however a solid and interesting subject matter, which (more or less transparently) relates to today’s reality TV. In all honestly, I think it is probably good that it does not get released on the silver screen. It is not a strong enough script, as far as I can tell from the trailer.
This trailer has not managed to entice or tease the audience: it has merely condensed 2 hours of television drama into one 2-minute presentation. The only really nice thing about it is the graphics that appear at random and sparsely. 4/10
Louise-Afzal Faerkel
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