THE FLY - 2014 - OLLY WILLIAMS

THE FLY (2014), directed by Olly Williams

The Fly, directed by Olly Williams in 2014 is about an uptight getaway driver who is waiting outside of a bank with 3 minutes until his crew returns. All he has to do is focus, but the presence of a small fly makes him very irritable, resulting in him acting irrationally and violently. 

The fly serves as a comedic device to put a light hearted tone on the story. The film is an action comedy that deals with the theme of crime.

Expectation:

I initially hypothesised that this film would be about a fly, but I also considered the title being symbolic of the feeling of being a fly on the wall. With predictions about a fly acting as both a character and a prop, I thought the short film would be a comedy, but with an ironic sense of being trapped.

Screen grabs and micro-element/narrative structure analysis:

The set up of the film occurs in a black out. We cannot see anything but can only hear - ‘ right boys, 3 minutes, now GO GO GO’ - gives an exposition to what is going in. Use of a sound bridge - only dialogue.

First shot of the film - close up. We can already sense the tension. Performance - his body is hunched over. His eyes are squinted…

Establishing shot - tells us where we are - POV shot. There is a little camera movement and no sound, creates tension. The mise-en-scene such as the red post-box hints to where we are.

Lighting - mid afternoon - sense of calmness and stillness - contrasted with chaos.

PLOT POINT 1 - the fly arrives - close up of the fly - THE FLY IS A PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF HIS ANXIETY (both a character and a prop). The close up of the fly makes it seem larger than it actually is - it is terrorising the driver. The shot also presents the fly as a gross insect, it is not attractive or pleasant to look at.

The buzzing of the fly is a sound that is key to the film. The diegetic noise positions us as the driver, and although we are not in the same situation as him, the noise is unpleasant for our ears. The anxiety that he feels because of the buzzing of the fly is mirrored in the audience. Often, there are moments of silence and the buzzing goes away, but it quickly returns. It would be surprising if someone had a similar reaction to the driver because of the noise, but the audience understand the effect of the sound on his actions.

The opening title is the only time that non-diegetic sound is used in the film (except for in the ending titles). The use of flashing black and white in the editing emphasises the chaos and tension that occurs in the film.

Static shots are contrasted with lots movement inside the car - cut aways.

The camera dolly’s in slightly on the bank - DIEGETIC SOUND - screaming coming from inside the bank, we are watching the robbery from from the outside.

This is a repeated cut away - the screaming gets louder and mor intense whenever we return to the shot.

DIEGETIC SOUND is used creatively to create tension: the high-pitched car running noise, the horn beeping and the buzzing of the fly creates a level of anxiety in us that is mirrored on screen.

Close up of the windscreen being wiped with the mask - squashed face - masks returned at the end - suggests he is destructing their plans through his careless actions.

The props emphasise the clumsiness of the driver - such as the coffee cup and the donut.

Pace of the EDITING speeds up after the car horn goes off - we feel a sense of alarm and panic with him.

The sound of the horn beeping is uncomfortable for the audience as we know that they could be caught.

A shaky camera is used at this point to show his anger controlling his physicality. 

The toothpick is a dramatic device that is used to suggest something is going to go wrong - we predict what is going to happen, and although we don’t see directly what happens, it can be interpreted - use of SFX makeup makes the audience uncomfortable. 

Cut away - creates tension - reminds us of the tension happening outside of the car. Sounds of the dogs barking as if they are drawing attention to his actions.

Reminder that he is not very intelligent - he is meant to be a get away driver, he can’t drive away if he destroys the car.

Moment of extreme violence and anger - the sound of the gun shots and the glass smashing is key in showing the extent of his anger.

There is a little bit of slow-motion to extend the ending and make it more dramatic and impactful.

Diegetic sound is used at the end - helicopter, sirens getting closer - they have been caught.

Slow editing is used at this point to create a sense of realisation - he has messed it up for everyone.

The masks create comedy - although these are not the true facial expressions of the robbers, the disgust of the masks show how they feel.

Medium close up of his face - performance - he has accepted that he is going to prison. Arguably, he doesn’t look guilty or apologetic.

We cut to closing titles - soundtrack - similar to a soundtrack that would normally occur in gangsta or crime films - fast-paced, violent - contrasts to the moment of silence at the end.

My response:

For a short film, this film looks like it has a feature film production budget. The quality is amazing and the way that the microelements work together is both comedic and tense, and the anxiety that the getaway driver feels is mirrored in the audience. Throughout the film, there is little to no dialogue, which makes Jack Doolan’s performance as the getaway driver all the more important. He is practically the only charcater in the film, and his performance is essential in conveying his anxiety and anger. Although his reactions may not be relatable, his feelings are, because having anger caused by a fly is a common occurrence that is very relatable.