Bullet Boy (2004)

Below is the opening sequence for Bullet Boy, a British social realist film directed by Saul Dibb.

Plot
After being realised from prison, Ricky wants to stay out of trouble and out of the slammer. 

Enigma Codes

Straight away in Bullet Boy, there are a number of enigma codes raised by the audience.  The first one is asked within the a minute, where we see a young boy in a confined space.  Where is he? How did he get there? Why is he there? As the opening sequence progresses these are answered, however the initial questioning by the audience creates a hook.  A number of other questions are also raised during the opening sequence, such as why was the other man in jail? What crime did he commit? When another driver of the car is seen from profile, a scar is visible on his neck; how did he get that? Was it a knife?  This opening sequence is very good at drawing in the audience and making them want to watch the rest of the film.

Character Establishment

Within the duration of the opening sequence, three main characters are introduced and established: Ricky, Wisdom and Curtis.  Straight away a family link is establishment, showing that Ricky and Curtis both care for each other.  Although Wisdom is not family, is is clearly seen that there is a close friendship between him and Wisdom; why else would he have driven all that way to meet him from jail?  There is little in the way of character development in the opening sequence,  however when another gang confronts Wisdom and Ricky, we see that the two have obvious experience with gangs themselves, indicating to the audience that they belong to, or have belonged to one.

Location, Location, Location

Like in all social realist films, the location for Bullet Boy is what appears to be a council estate of high rise flats, situated in a large, industrial city.  The location of Birmingham is established verbally, however a number of shots also help to audience to understand where the film in located.  An establishing shot in used to show the flats, as well as the surrounding shops and area.  It is very clear from the locations shown in the opening sequence that this is a film of the social realism genre, as a horror film would not feature a location where there were so many people in such a little space.  The location of the jail is also established, showing the audience that the main characters come from a troubled background. 

Titles

Like in all most films, the titles in Bullet Boy include the production companies that have contributed to the making of the film.  These titles appear in the centre of the screen, where they are most visible to the audience.  The names of the actors and actresses appear over the titles, as is a  common convention of social realist films.  Although the text is not in the centre of the screen, it is white, making it stand out against the darker background.  Only the names of the 'main' actors have been included- this does not overwhelm the audience with information whilst at the same time giving them some knowledge as to who is in the film.  There is nothing elaborate about the titles and they are simple and in a plain font.  This could perhaps represent the the life the characters lead in the sense that they too are not flashy are rather plain. 

Iconography

The council estate type mise-en-scene is a key convention of the social realist genre, as it indicates to the audience that the characters are not wealthy, immediately making them more relatable to the audience.  Smoking is also a key feature of social realist films.  Other films of the genre, such as This Is England, see the characters smoke cigarettes and other substances.  Smoking is linked with social realist films, as stereotypically people who are poorer and have less tend to smoke.  Although there has been little of it yet, there is the suggestion that gang related violence could feature later on in the film.  Violence would not be a surprising feature to include in a social realist film, and in Bullet Boy in could possible come from when Wisdom damages another guys car.

Target Audience

Overall, I would say that the target audience for this film would be 18 to 26 year-olds, mainly ethnic males, and mainly working class.