The Fly - Olly Williams

The Fly (2015), directed by Olly Williams, is a comedic short following the wait of a getaway driver for a bank robbery.  While waiting, the getaway driver becomes more and more irritable by a fly in his car, he begins with mild annoyance until by the end of the short, he is driven crazy and furious over this fly. Throughout his rage and extreme reaction, his 3 parters are looting the bank next to the car. The Fly subverts and challenges our expectations of this type of heist genre of films by changing to focus of the film and creating comedy in this overreaction, that later costs him and ruins the heist.

Genre - Crime, Action, Comedy

Sound - Sound is key in this film as the film has little to no dialogue at all and it is pinnacle to the depiction of the story. To begin, a sound bridge is used with a black screen shown, the sound of guns cocking and  one of the criminals saying 'right boys, 3 minutes, Go, Go, Go'. This sets the scene instantly establishes the story and gives the audience an exposition to what is going on. This is basically the only dialogue used in this short. This is followed by the ambient sound of the car whirring, ready to drive off and then begins the buzzing of the fly.  In the film, the buzzing is is shown as annoyance to the driver but also to the heightened sound, it is also infuriating as us. This places us in the same position as the driver as  although we don't react the same, the sound is still jarring in our ears. Also, throughout the film, there are consistent cuts to the door of the bank, where muffled screams and shouts can be heard from inside the bank, this contrasts to the silence of the surrounding of the car, but also aligns as the anger in both stories are matched. As the screams in the bank become more scared, the anger in the car becomes more powerful. This reminder of the situation in bank, keep us aware of the on going situation outside the car but also places us outside the story so that we focus on the driver's situation. As the driver becomes more infuriated, he breaks the steering wheel, when trying to trap the fly, the horn of the car starts to beep continuously, until the driver breaks it and the airbag goes off. The sound of the horn is heightened creating uncomfortable situation but once the airbag breaks, there is a moment of silence. This creates a sense of relief as the horn has stopped but also the buzzing of the fly has stopped for a moment. However, the buzzing only stops for a moment, this leads the driver to completely lose all control and get out of the car and shoot the fly with a shot gun. Here, the sound design is incredibly impressive. Each change of direction of the shot, the sound of the gun changes. For example, when shooting into the air, the sound is different to when he shoots into the bonnet of the car. At the end of the film, distant sounds of police sirens are heard, indicating the expected outcome of this film. However, the ending title sound contrasts this. The song used contrasts the outcome of the situation as it is a classic soundtrack used in a crime or gangsta film, that would be played as they drive away in victory.

Cinematography and Editing - Throughout the film, each shot of the fly are close ups, this enlarges the fly and makes it seem much bigger than it actually is. These close ups show the amount of attention given by the driver, played by Jack Doolan, these shots also show the repulsiveness of the fly, as we see the haired body and sticky wings,  As this scene plays out and he gets more frustrated, the camera continuously cuts to exterior shots the car and surroundings, this creates comedy as we can see the juxtaposition to the calmness of the surroundings compared to the frantic situation going on inside the car. This is also the same with consistent mid shots of the bank door, reminding us the bank robbery going on and the tension building inside - almost an indication to where the actual danger and exciting incident is that this film should be following. Throughout the film, we see the driver from every angle with different camera angles, showing the claustrophobic space that he is in, he is stuck in the car but also cannot leave as he is relied on by his accompliaces. When the driver injures himself with the tooth pick, the camera cuts to a POV shot of him looking at himself in the broken rear view mirror, that he broken previously. This shows the sheer mess of the situation and the overreaction that he has had to this fly but it is also a reflection of his broken mentality. Finally, when the driver becomes overwhelmed with anger, the camera work begins to become shaky and frantic compared to the stillness that it was before, faster editing is used and this depicts his frantic mindset and rage - he has finally lost it. The editing in this film is frantic, with the cuts to the title scene being jumpy and quick, creating a on edge atmosphere in the beginning of the film. It also shows the two stories being told in parallel, with the bank robbery and the fly with the driver. There are many jump cuts throughout the film, with depicts the disorientated feeling that the driver has. Towards the end of the film, after the mess has been created and the accomplices come out, slow editing is used to show the realisation of what has happened.

Mise-en-scene - Mise-en-scene is key in this film in creating realism/authenticity and comedy. The costume of the driver depicts him as a cockney gangster, with a 70s aesthetic. The leather jacket, collared polo shirt, bling watch, tooth pick. Although the film is set in modern times, the aesthetic is shown as 70s style. The rabbit foot key-ring is used as a juxtaposition - the rabbit foot is meant to be a good luck charm but this goes against the scene that plays out. The props throughout the film, are used int he wrong way to show the clumsiness of the driver, with the donut and coffee cup used to catch the fly and the gun to shoot the fly. This creates absurd comedy. The masks used are also used comedically as when the accomplices come out to see the disaster outside, although they are not the real facial expression of the character they fit, with a look of disgust and disappointment. The lighting in this film, shows the time of day with mid morning or afternoon light.