Angela's Ashes Essay

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Angela’s Ashes Angela’s Ashes is a film based on a memoir with the same name, written by Frank McCourt. The film makes the memoir’s story come to life. It is about life in impoverished Depression-era Ireland, 1930s, and how McCourt family dealt with poverty, and terrible situations. The protagonist of this film is Frank McCourt. He is one of the main characters, and Angela’s Ashes is his childhood story. Frank is not just a protagonist, is also a dynamic character. We see him grow, develop, and learning during the course of the story. Frank at the end of the film is not the same Frank from the beginning. At the beginning of the film, McCourt family has seven members: Angela, Malachy, and their five children, one daughter and four boys. Frank’s father, Malachy McCourt, has a problem with alcohol, and is the main reason why his family has to live without constant meal, bad living conditions, and poor clothes. The death of his first daughter, Mary-Magdalen, and later, the death of his twin-sons, Oliver and Eugene, pushed his alcoholism over the edge. Also, his wife, Angela, was not very supportive, sometimes was cold, and mean. Malachy McCourt is a flat and stock character. He did not change at all, and he was acting like any alcoholic men would have. When he did get a job, he would drink the money, come home drunk, and being very loud. At the end, he left his family, and he broke all contact with them. The film’s mood is very sad, dark, and depressing. The majority of the character are miserable, many died, and Frank was always hungry, and sad. When Frank grew up, he got a job, saved money, and moved to America. The main theme of the film is Frank’s journey from poverty in Ireland, and going to America. In this case, America represents a new beginning. The film starts with a scene about a father holding his baby daughter, and telling her how happy he is that she’s there, and how beautiful she is. Them the camera focuses on the entire family. Four boy, one daughter, a mother, and a father. The family lives in poverty. Their flat is tiny, dirty, and cold. The dark lightening emphasises the coldness, and the bad living conditions. The children are wearing poor clothes, and their parents are not dressed any better. Most of the film, the McCourt family, their neighbours, school classmates are dressed in poor clothes. However, the authority figures (teachers, priests, government employees) in this film are dressed in nice clothes, and they seem well fed. Many scenes have a dark light. Some of them are at night, and showing the narrow streets and the water from the rain, others with the family, in their house. Most of the scenes with the family inside their house are darker, putting accent on their bad living conditions and their hard lives. Even in daylight, the light is darker, like a shadow. While the weather is mostly bad, the light seems to reflect Frank’s life and feelings. Most music is instrumental (piano, violin), and sad. Only when the father gets drunk and starts singing, the music is cheerful. Toward the end of the film, Frank starts getting to wear nicer clothes, mostly because he has a job and he can afford them. His first good suit is bought by his aunt, Anggie. The film uses several camera angles throughout the entire story. Long shots were used a few times to show the
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