muna's textual analaysis

textual analysis

The tittle of the film which i will be analysing is called 'P.S. I Love You'. This film was an successful drama / romance and this is why i decided to analysis this as part of my coursework. P.S. I Love You was directed by Richard LaGravenese.

This slow emotional film tells the story of a couple who were deeply in love but when death struck the partner, memorise were all that were Left for her. Todorov’s equilibrium model is the beginnings as they are living a normal life were couples usually argue and have miss understandings. However this normal state is disrupted by the fact that we become aware that he is dead and that she is at his funeral. Levi-Strauss theory is applied smoothly in this film as we become aware feather in to the film that even though he is dead, she still can’t get over him and stop loving him. This is what then leads her falling into her mums trap with the hidden letters Gerry had left behind. This is typical of a romance because as an audience we would expect the husband to do something special for his wife as he would know how long it would take her to get over this sad situation. P.S I love you is a romantic drama which follows a chronological order. This is because the film itself was derived from a book due to its success. I believe that this romantic movie follows an open narrative. This is because in the end of the movie when the widower goes to a holiday to island and meets her new Irish man we are yet to see if they fall in love and get together, therefore we are left with an open narrative. This leaves the audience to decide and think about how the film is to end. This film is also omniscient. This is because it has no restrictions as to how the film could possibly end.

As you should already know, this film is a romantic drama and so the ways in which the main characters act around each other are very typical. The behaviour of the characters is very romantic. In the first scene we see a shot of the happy couple laying in the bed together.

This represents there romance. We also see them arguing and shouting at each other, this is typical of a drama film. The way in which they communicate and speak to each other is very typical of a romantic drama. Words like “hunny” or “baby” represent the fact that they are a very close couple. There facial expressions and bossy language all prove and connote that they are a couple. For example when they are arguing in the begging we see angry faces and a violent body language. However further in to the movie we see the opposites loving and caring body language. This is all typical because we would expect couples to get into arguments and then make up. That is the normal state of every relationship.

The story line is typical of a romance and drama because someone she loved has now died and left her life and the fact that she is living with his memories and flash backs shows that her love for him is forever going. Even when she first meets that Irish guy who sings to her and she manages to run out due to her not being able to coupe.

Nevertheless, sound, cinegraphy, editing and mise-en-scene are all typical of this genre to, this is because in the begging we hear a non digestic soundtrack of a slow and sad song which quotes "ill love you till the end" this could represent how deeply in love hey are with each other. When the couple are arguing they use a shot reverse shot as they are screaming with a wall in-between them. This wall could represent the fact that it’s separating the couple and could also represent his death. We see a few close ups of her face looking into his eyes and with him looking at him to. This shows a relationship as they are quite close. After the first scene we see a change in scene and the use of a fast sound shows that the narrative is being pushed forward. In the funeral we see people all dressed in black and that represents mourning and that they are gathered around for a reason as someone has died. At one point in the movie we see the wife in her bed having memorised were the light keeps switching on and off. And whenever it is on it represents happiness as it is a memory of them together as she can see him. but in the dark she is by herself and so she is isolated.