Comparative Textural Analysis

The Most Beautiful Man in the

World
Title: The Most Beautiful Man in the World
Writer/Director: Alicia Duffy
Released: 4 October 2002
Genre: Short Social Realist
Length: 05:50
Alicia Duffys Short won several awards including the Hamburg
International, short film award, as well as the TCM Prize at London Film
Festival. This could be argued because of the variety of issues and themes
explored, and the several interpretations of the narratives meaning.

Themes and Issues

There are many themes and issues that are explored within the short,
through the use of narrative, as well as most importantly; micro elements
and technical/character codes. These elements are used to create
representations of events, places, groups, types and individuals in the
film. But as well as this, they also convey messages and meaning with
social and cultural significance to the viewer.
The highlighted themes of this short are:
-Neglect
-Isolation
-Poverty
-Danger
-Freedom -Captivity
-Hope
-Boredom
-Journeys -Stimulation
-Cycles
-Vulnerability

The issues addressed in the film are:

-Paedophilia/sexualisation of children
-The need of stimulation
-Child Neglect
-Vulnerability of children
-Segregation
-Sensory Deprivation

Textural Analysis
Nearing the end of the company and production credits, before we see
any picture, we are given the low-quality, sounds of the childs TV show in
the background. This immediately creates characterisation (i.e. most likely
a child watching the show), but also suggests to the audience that the
character being revealed is of a low-income family, therefore setting the
tone, and conveying the underlying theme of poverty.
The scene then begins with a fade from black, to a slowly
panning/tilting shot up a young girls body, whilst she is watching
television. The camera movement is slowly revealing her body which can
be interpreted as camera sexualisation, however her face is not
immediately revealed so that the audience become curious. But because
of her age, this sexualisation immediately discomforts the audience and
the accompaniment of the slow camera movement build tension for the
character reveal. This can also place the film in a much wider media
course of discussion.

In this shot, the director has placed the girl in front of a TV, with her
yawning over the top of its sounds. This was a way to communicate to the
audience that this is obviously a regular or common activity for the girl,
and that the lack of stimulation that it is causing, is beginning to affect her
in a negative manner. The dirty, sweaty make-up that has been applied to
the girl, along with the low-key lighting and dull colour pallet, helps
portray this further, by which this lifestyle is causing her to care less about
appearance or hygiene, possibly because of the parental neglect shown
later in the film.
When someone is very young (like the protagonist), the brain is in
its prime stage to develop, however it needs stimulation to help with its
development process. The immediate issue addressed by this shot, is that
children in the modern age are not getting enough metal stimulation to

help their brains develop to enjoy and experience parts of life, possibly
ruining what is considered the most important part of their life.
We are given real time in this and other scenes to communicate the
tedium of her situation her boredom a stasis.
The next shot is of the girl lying on the floor asleep (possibly the
next morning), with a dog stood over her (its head out of frame), implying
a guardian status to her, as her actual mother is neglectful to her wants
and needs. As well as neglect, this shot supports the theme of poverty
and lower classes due to her sleeping on the floor with no blankets or
pillows to comfort her.

After this, we are given another slowly panning and tilting shot of
the protagonist, staying silent and with a slight emotion of
distress/sadness. With this, is off-camera dialogue of two females
(assumingly one being the mother) where they are talking but completely
segregating the girl from the conversation, therefore relating the scene
back to neglect.

The scene then fades to black and shows the title the most
beautiful man in the world. However, there has not been a single man
shown, mentioned or even suggested in the short yet. This can show to

the audience that the girl most likely has no father or male-figure living
with her, and therefore any man could be the most beautiful man in the
world to her.
The following scene has the girl lying on the floor again, with only a
womans legs in the background of the frame. When the phone rings and
the woman then goes to answer it; yet even though there is a shot change
to something much wider and higher-angled, the womans face is still not
shown, concealing her identity, and then she almost immediately leaves
the frame again. This is to show further how distant the mother is to the
young girl as a parental figure and can show adults from a childs
perspective (i.e. large, frightening, powerful, controlling etc.) The mise-enscene of the room is used to help convey the class and status of the
characters and to construct the underlying theme of poverty. This is
established through the old-looking items and furniture (suggesting that
they cant afford any new ones), the rooms cluttered mess and finally the
dull-lifeless colour pallet i.e. grey walls, faded-brown chair, dark blue/grey
carpet etc.

In the same shot, the girl then gets up and walks towards the
window (with light shining through), to then stand in between them and
the curtains. The significance of this, is that she has a want and a need to
leave her current situation for something better, which is shown by the
strong light coming from outside, and the child walking from the centre of
the frame to the edge of space in the frame. This also suggests the
underlying theme of hope.
In the next scene the girl is outside, riding her bicycle alone in
circles. This is indicating of cyclical nature of her events, and a repetitive
single trajectory, which shows confined behaviour (fish in a bowl, animals
in a zoo). Also the shot is very wide, to convey her significance, relating
to vulnerability.

She then contemplates going into this area of wilderness, across

from her house. She looks behind her to see if anyone is looking which
raises the stakes, however there is no one there. Shes about to do
something she knows she shouldnt, yet there is no one to stop her, which
is significant for the raising issue of her neglect.
The next shot is of the girl walking towards a spiked fence, with the
wilderness and a motorway in the background. This jaggedness of the
fence is indicative of danger (e.g. unknown area exploration), and the
motorway is symbolistic of the barrier that is stopping her from moving
onto better things i.e. the art direction conveys an emotion of captivity to
the audience. The girl then leaves the frame and walks back into it, on the
other side of the fence. This is to suggest her re-birth and a new phase of
her existence as she is moving away.

The hand-held shots that follow are used to hint that someone is
watching her, and slightly builds tension for the audience; fulling the
spikey fences foreshadowing.
The next few shots have a very artistic editing style, to suggest the
characters sense of wonder and awe as she is experiencing new things

(such as wildlife, nature etc.) The clip is jump cut back and forth in time,
to help suggest this magical/mystical tone to the scene. These micro
elements convey the idea that this new place is her own, as an escape
from the reality of her current existence it is her way to escape.

After the second time she leaves the frame completely, visual
symmetry of the mans body is being revealed. This camera movement
creates a connection between the girl and the man possibly as a father
figure (again relating to her isolation and neglect). The importance of this
shot is that the mother was never on her level, but the man is
immediately given the same eye level.

However, when the man gets up and looks down upon the girl after
she says thats my dog, his facial expressions towards her look
menacing and off-putting for the audience. Then the next few shots,
relates this direction to the subject of paedophilia, as her puts his hand on
her collar bone and grabs a bud that was underneath her shirt strap.
Another sexualised panning/tilting shot of the girls body follows this to
portray the meaning further.

As the man bends down to her eye-level and smiles, he stops and
looks into the distance, where a side-shot of the girls mother is then
shown (the first time we see her face). After they both realise, we are
given a shaky hand-held shot following the girl as she is running back to
mother. This is to show the power and authority her mother has over her,
and the worried/frightful emotions associated with this.

Finally, we are given shots of the girl inside the house again; one of
a slamming door from her mother, another looking forlorn on the
staircase, and the other back in front on the TV.

This is to convey further, the cyclical nature of her events, as she

ends up in the exact same situation as she did in the begging in front of
the TV, lacking any sort of mental or physical stimulation.
The tone of this film, is very monotone, static and long held. However the
short in some respects can be seen as a Haiku as the small stretches of
film explodes with several different meanings. For example everything in
the domestic space is denying the characters want for stimulation, so
therefore her need is to find a way to allow her to reach her goals.
Through evaluation, it is fair to say that the meaning of the film is that
there is a very significant importance of this time in a childs life where
they need stimulation, to let them reach their potential and to
enjoy/experience life.

Marilyn Milgrams techniques of successful short filmmaking have

also been accounted for and applied into the direction and writing of

Duffys award winning short. Firstly, Milgram states that a dramatic story
requires three basic elements; a world, a character and a problem.
Duffys The Most Beautiful Man in the World fills all three of these, by
placing the narrative in an outer-city, lower class area of the UK; as well as
showing a young girls problem of neglect and lack of stimulation.
Milgram also states that a short film should focus on one moment or
event in the life of the main character / protagonist (preferably in real
time). This is also reproduced by Alicia Duffy, by which the narrative of
the short is based around the one event where the girl meets a topless
man in a field near her house. But not only this, the story is played out in
real time for most of the short, to communicate the tedium of her
situation.
Milgram suggests that it can be useful to have a literal journey as a
setting for a short film. Alicia Duffys story is both a physical and a
metaphysical journey for the young girl as she leaves the house to
explore (moving), but she also has new experiences to open her mind.
However, the girls journey in this short is cyclical, so she ends up exactly
where she started.
In her research, Milgram also states that the director or writer
should consider one of three things to drive the characters through the
story; a want, need or obligation. In The Most Beautiful Man in the World,
all three of these are implemented. For example; the childs want is to
explore and leave the house, her need is to achieve stimulation of any
sort, and her obligation is to stay at home with her mother.