Bullet Boy – British Crime Bullet Boy (2006) is a British Crime film that follows the life of young Ricky and his brother Curtis. The film uses the typical conventions of a British crime as well as using post-modern elements such as challenging metanarratives and character representation.

Narrative – character types Ricky - protagonistCurtis – Ricky’s younger brother turned helper Godfrey - antagonist

Narrative structure Part 1: The set up is Ricky and his family getting arrested by armed police, immediately telling the audience the situation the family are living in. There is lots of shouting and the image of a police officer pointing a gun at the young Curtis is quite shocking. Part 2: Starts to introduce problems which could result in Ricky going back to prison. A voiceover of a woman talking explains how if Ricky gets involved with ‘anyone’ then he’ll go back to prison. It also shows conflict when Ricky hits another person’s car which is very important in the storyline. Part 3: Shows a montage of how Ricky’s life starts to unravel and him falling into trouble. It also involves the innocence of his younger brother Curtis, contrasting the two brother’s lives.

Camera Trailer uses lots of close-ups to truly portray character’s emotions, and often sound isn’t necessary to know how they feel and what they might do.

Mise en scene - costume Ricky wears typical London-estate clothing, of tracksuit whilst Curtis wears his school uniform, helping show his innocence. The people around the boys, similarly to Ricky, wear typical clothes of a street criminal, with hats and chains.

Mise en scene - props The use of weapons in the trailer is rife, but also very important as the whole story revolves around a gun. This represents the violence that can be expected to be seen in the film.

Mise en scene - lighting The trailer isn’t shot in any particular way in terms of lighting, with lots of natural lighting used when the scene is outside, but when there are scenes inside Ricky’s home, it is often dark which could show that it is a bad place to be/live.

Mise en scene – location(s) The trailer uses lots of locations, including Ricky’s home, the train station and the surrounding areas to his home. These locations have been used to show how Ricky’s life is normal and the situation he finds himself in in terms of going to prison and being involved in crime is a very real reality for people living in urban London.

Mise en scene - sound Much of the trailer is made up of voiceovers, whether it be Ricky, his friends or people offering him advice. The trailer also includes a soundtrack by Massive Attack called ‘Bullet Boy’.

Editing To maintain the film’s realism, no special effects have been used at all, but instead minor effects have been used in the trailer to add to the information being given. It also puts emphasis on certain props that will be important in the film and tries to show the audience that they need to remember these things shown.