Analysing Steal Away

The director gives the audience a sense of false expectation that the narrative will be based around a heist.  The non-diegetic music is generically associated with spy movie and the money in a briefcase is a symbol of the underworld. We see the cross between genres straight away – the cross in the car is deliberately juxtaposed with the audience’s expectations and is a metaphor for religion and the rejection of it. Like most short films, the director promptly establishes the narrative and his message about the consequences of actions using the robbery and consequently the shot in an element of surprise. The suspension of sound before the fatal sound of the shot reverberates increases the tension for the audience and adds to the weight of the slow motion and focus pull of the female protagonist’s reaction to the shot. This I believe is the defining moment of the film, as it is where life and death meet. The shot of the exit sign becomes a connotation of destiny for the whole film – the bright white light, down the tunnel, curving into the unknown.

The director stylistically uses everyday props to shape and convey meanings; for example, the red money is interpreted as a symbol of religion the sin that covers the protagonists’ lives. The simplicity of the props directly links to the simplicity of the message. The smooth yet exciting transition between two genres is enhanced by the protagonists’ reaction to the ‘blood money’, and the fact that it seems to fuel their sexual desires holds the audience in a suspended confusion. The water they use to immerse themselves is symbolically baptismal, as for the cleansing and forgiving of sins. The white train comes in slowly and silently like a ghost, because we cannot see anyone on it. The train is initially like danger for the protagonists because they do not see it until it is too late. The director has taken a song and used the everyday metaphor to help convey its moral of salvation to the audience. The director again changes the audiences’ expectations when they get on the train.

The lightning is an important supporting aspect of the story. The change from the normal lighting at the beginning, to the dark shadowy underground, metaphorically tells the story of a road from ‘hell’ to redemption. The flickering lights when the preacher’s assistant touches Michael’s face is the fight between  good and evil and it is like he is removing the innermost evil that no one else can see, which is reminiscent in the fact that no-one seems to notice what transpires between the two characters. The change after this is different the train becomes brighter and whiter and the dye that was the sin they carried around, as baggage is now non-existent. I thought that this short was excellent because of the inability to interpret the narrative. The director also challenges the idea that money can buy anything i.e. the man who kicked the assistant and tried to give him £20, does not end up in heaven. The audience is constantly left surprised, even right until the end, which makes its meaning much more beautiful as touches on the fragility and the preciousness of life.