Essex Boys

Essex Boys is a film directed by Terry Winsor, the film was made in the year 2000 and it is based around the Murders of three drug dealers in 1995. Below are the opening scenes.

The first scene we see shows a garage door being opened, the garage is very small creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. The character of Billy, who has just opened the door turns on several lights, this illuminates the room showing cobwebs and dirt. The way in which the shot comes from within the room and not from the character is what takes this scene away from looking like a horror and more like a thriller. The character moves around in a cheap black suit and starts to narrate in an essex accent. The character speaks about a man called Jason, who has just been released from jail. The shot moves to show the view from the passenger seat, the shot shows the windscreen wipers cleaning mud from the glass. A man is standing under a lamp infront of the car. This character is obviously Jason, his stance shows dominance and the dirty glass symbolises the difference between Jason and Billy. Jason is dressed in a leather coat and a very unflattering yellow patterned shirt. This links to the character of Bill from Kill Bill, because both men are dressed in a cheap and shoddy way, this shows that the characters are trying to give of the image of power, even though they do not have as much power as they'd like. 

The second scene shows a car driving slowly down into a tunnel, this once again creates a very claustrophobic atmosphere whilst also implying that being with Jason alone is dangerous. The car slowly gets further and further away from the camera as it drives into the tunnel, showing that Billy is digging himself a hole in his situation with Jason. The tunnel itself looks a lot like the barrel of a gun, this scene may be used again with an actual gun to show that Billy made the wrong choice by driving in the tunnel.

The third shot shows Jason sitting in the back of Billy's car with his arms behind his head, this shows that he is very calm and relaxed, we then see through the windscreen that Billy is far from relaxed. The comparison between the two characters shows that Billy is not the kind of person that would act like Jason and that Billy is the more favourable character.
As we watch Billy drive the lights from the tunnel roof shine down, creating jail bars on the windscreen, this shows us that the characters actions are going to be quite deviant and also that Billy knows the possible consequences of his actions. As the characters leave the scene the camera pans to the right to show a 'Welcome to Essex' sign. This is another cultural signifier, it helps show that the film is following some element of truth, for example that it is based on a true story.
The next shot is a point of vue shot from Billy as he watches Jason, the narration talks about how Jason wanted to meet a friend, that he knew from before he went to jail. The shot contrasts well with the calm narration because from the chair leg in his hand and the look on Jasons face we see that the meeting is not with that of a friend. we see from to views as Jason attacks, firstly from the crowd overlooking the fight, and secondly from Billy as he looks through the windscreen. The first shot shows that this kind of behavior is not uncommon, because the crowd are cheering on the fight. The second shot shows that the character of Billy is incredibly scared and is starting to truly understand the situation he has placed himself in.