Analysis of Bouncer

Bouncer is a Channel 4 short film starring Ray Winstone. The opening music bed is foreboding and the question in the voiceover, “what do you see when you look into the face of a nightclub doorman?” immediately grabs the audience’s attention because it is addressed at them. By supporting it with the visual before switching back to the present day it allows us to understand the story, speaking from his own experiences. The questions directed at the audience, “Sound brave?” Refocus the audience’s attention. The short matter-of-fact statements make it more effective shocking for the audience because they are faced with the hard-hitting truth. It helps the story to move on quickly much unlike a commercial film, which has a slow start and that is we know John is dead already before we see it. The freeze frames are also unusual for a film because they remind the audience that they are watching a film, compared to a mainstream one, which tries to make it seamless so that they forget that. The lack of noise as ‘John’ walks to his car makes it so much more shocking when he dies even though we knew it was coming. The absence of sounds as they beat him and slow motion helps it sink in for the audience and the sudden ending adds to the idea that this just life.