Summer Research Task

The Business is a British film that was released during 2005. The era of the film is set during the 1980s and primarily focuses on three British gangsters who have migrated to Spain to continue carrying out their criminal deeds but at the same time live a glamorous life.

Throughout the movie, the plot primarily focuses on one character which is Frankie. He is the protagonist of the storyline, which the audience follows him through his journey. Additionally we are aware he is the main character seeing as we hear a non-diegetic sound of Frankie’s voice all through the movie explaining every situation. Seeing as all characters introduced in the movie are all outlaws, they’re all represented as being negative individuals seeing as they do not follow the laws of society.
The mise-en-scene is clearly shown to be set in Spain given the fact that Frankie first informs the audience that he’ll be leaving the United Kingdom to go and live in Spain. Furthermore with various elements/props shown such as villas, beaches and swimming pools, and the hot sunny weather, we are clearly able to establish once the protagonist has migrated to another location during the disequilibrium period of the movie.
The film’s soundtrack consists of popular 80s chart hits, which therefore gives the film much of its atmosphere. The non-digetic sounds played through help set the scene when a different location is shown each time.

Considering that the film is set during the 1980s, to some extent it could be described as the "British version of the film Scarface" given the fact that the two films have a very similar plots and themes in addition to numerous indirect references to Scarface in the film such as their dress code. Furthermore a shot of a sunset/palm tree that then turns out to be a mural is a deliberate reference to a similar shot in Scarface.

Unmistakably the film is portrayed using a linear pattern. The narrative clearly has a beginning, middle and end. Moreover no enigma codes are introduced throughout the movie seeing as we hear the non-diegetic sound of Frankie’s voice throughout explaining every situation as he progresses during his story.

Undoubtedly the genre of the film is set to be a Gangster Film considering that the plot involves various aspects of crime. Elements in the movie suggesting its genre include…

- Guns
- Drugs
- Sex
- Violence
Due to the film’s content stated above, it’s clear to understand that the film specifically targets an audience over the age of 18 due to the content being explicit in terms of showing those under the age. Some content may not be suitable to be viewed by children such as the use of props such as guns seeing as they could easily influence children

The Business was filmed by Vertigo Films, which is a British film production company. They had funded the film with a budget up to £2 million, which a majority of the film was also shot in Spain.
The film was distributed by Pathé, which this company also specialises in movie production. As Vertigo Films had produced the film, Pathé acted as their marketing route seeing as they had actually released the film on DVD and distributed it to cinemas.

http://www.thebusinessmovie.co.uk/

Reviews:

There is little in The Business that gangster fans won't find familiar. What sets it apart is Love's inviting direction that finds neon-lit beauty in the tackiest beachside watering holes and a clutch of muscular performances. The hilarious outfits and never-ending stream of cheesy pop hits provide a strong sense of period, and there's a sly sense of humour beneath all the salty geezer talk and bloodletting. Frankie's dry narration, "He was so hard, his nightmares were scared of him" betrays an amused, ironic mind at work. In all, it's an impressive take on a familiar genre.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/08/26/the_business_2005_review.shtml