Fish Tank Deconstruction – Mise en Scene

The trailer starts off with the main girl looking in a mirror and applying makeup.  This represents her as a girly girl who likes to look attractive.  The blurred lights gives a warm, soft glow which emphasises on her female characteristics

 The next section shows her drinking vodka straight from the bottle which would imply that she does not worry about looking like a classy woman but gives the audience a bad first impression that she is a drunk.  Her bedroom walls are pink and girly which could show her as vulnerable.  There is a juxtaposition between how her bedroom presents her and how she presents herself with the vodka bottle.

The location used for the scene is of a typical British estate.  This gives off the immediate impression of a lower class background which many people associate with bad behaviour and crime.  In this scene she is presented as quite rough in a plain grey tracksuit and a black backpack.  This does not portray her a feminine and with her hair tied back she looks quite tomboyish.       

The other girls in the scene are presented quite differently to the main character.  They are dressed in revealing clothing which is more colourful than hers.  Their provocative dancing portrays them as not very respectful of themselves and attention seeking.  One girl is at the front of the group which makes you presume she is their kind of leader.

The body language between the girls is very aggressive and angry.  This, along with the provocative dancing of the girls is quite stereotypical of the area they are filming in and is used to create a common, lower class region.  .  

When she is filmed on her own dancing it is always in a small dark room which conveys a sense of isolation and loneliness.  Putting up her hood also gives her an aura of unfriendliness and standoffish. 







The relationship between the girl and her mother is portrayed through mise en scene as very absent and aggressive.  Here it captures her mother slapping the daughter.

 The mother is presented as middle-age trying to stay young.  She is dressed in a bright vest top and short skirt which shows youth and is shown dancing closely with an man holding alcohol and cigarettes.  This does not portray her in a motherly light and does not give the audience any reason to warm to her. 
 

Here the girl is show drinking straight from the tap which is not a normal behaviour the audience would expect.  The kitchen is very untidy with alcohol bottles everywhere.  The house is portrayed as not a very nice, clean place to live. 

The dark room in this scene portrays a sense of mystery and presents this man as quite shady.  He is positioned below the girl, relaxed on the sofa whilst she gets up to dance, this could remind the audience of a scene from a strip club.  This scene is particularly symbolic as it shows her reaching out to touch a white horse.  Horses are sometimes used to represent freedom, something she does not have much of.  The horse is white to symbolise purity, her reaching out to it shows how much she wants these things in her life.  But also like her, the horse is penned in by its surroundings.   

This scene is particularly symbolic as it shows her reaching out to touch a white horse.  Horses are sometimes used to represent freedom, something she does not have much of.  The horse is white to symbolise purity, her reaching out to it shows how much she wants these things in her life.  But also like her, the horse is penned in by its surroundings