An Analysis of P.S. I Love You

Running Head: P. S. I LOVE YOU 1 An Analysis of P. S. I Love You Tammy McDaniel ENG 225 Jonathan Beller August 15, 2011 P. S. I LOVE YOU 2 An Analysis of P. S. I Love You The 2007 film, P. S. I Love You, is a film about learning to let go and move on with your life after the death of a spouse. The Film stars Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby and Gerard Butler, 300. It also stars Lisa Kudrow as Denise, Gina Gershon as Sharon, James Marsters as John, Kathy Bates as Patricia (Hollys mom), Nellie McKay as Ciara (Hollys sister), Harry Connick Jr. s Daniel, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as William. This paper will critique the film, P. S. I Love You, through textual and formal analysis focusing on the following elements.. Storytelling, Acting, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Style and Directing, Societal Impact, Genre, and Film Criticism and Analysis. By examining the films technical elements, you can gain a better understanding of the directors vision of the film. P. S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama directed by Richard LaGavenese. The screenplay by LaGavenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel P. S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. This film was shot on locations in New York City and county Wicklow, Ireland. (Imdb. com) In this film, P. S. I Love You, Hilary Swank plays Holly, an American who marries an Irishman,Gerry (played by Gerard Butler). Gerry is Hollys soul mate, the love of her life. A few weeks shy of her 30th birthday Gerry dies from a brain tumor. Holly feels so lost without Gerry that for weeks she stays in her apartment and does not want to see or talk to anyone except Gerry. On her 30th birthday her friends come over to force her to celebrate and get out of her slump. A cake arrives mysteriously. When opened Holly finds a tape recorded message from Gerry. He tells her that she will receive a series of letters and that she has to do what each letter says. A different letter will arrive each month for ten months. The letters range from singing Karaoke to P. S. I LOVE YOU 3 going to Ireland with her friends. During the course of these letters Holly is pushed into a new future. Gerry has sent her on a journey to discover who she is without him in her life. Gerry ends each letter with P. S. I Love You. The filmmakers presented this film in chronological order to show how Holly deals with her life without Gerry and how she finds the courage to move on. This film takes place in a years time with a few flashbacks to help you understand the love that Holly and Gerry shared. Some of the settings used in this film include: Holly and Gerrys apartment, Hollys Moms bar, and Ireland. Holly suffers from an internal conflict. She knows that she will have to let Gerry go but, she does not want to. She resolves this conflict by reading Gerrys letters and doing what he asks. The letters in this film are a symbolic gesture of Gerrys love for Holly and him wanting her to move on with her life and not be depressed that he is gone. People who have lost a loved one can understand the internal conflict that Holly suffers from. This makes the movie more real to these people. I think this film ends up being a Situational Irony occurs when we expect one thing to happen and something else does. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011). Through out the entire movie film you believe that Gerry set everything up with the post office so the letters arrive to Holly on certain days. At the end of the film you find the Gerry talked Hollys mom into delivering the letters to Holly. Against her feelings that this was not good For Holly she does what Gerry asks. The dialogue in this film allows you to see how Holly goes from being depressed to being happy with her life. You can tell the difference when Holly is talking to someone that she is slowly letting go of Gerry. I believe that the plot and the character drives the film forward. The plot P. S. I LOVE YOU 4 consists of carefully chosen elements from the tory that the writer feels the viewer needs to know and has arranged into a consciously designed order, leaving out some things and possibly repeating other things more than once. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) I feel that this goes hand in hand with Hollys mom being the one delivering the letters. The character drives the film,because you want to see how Holly handles receiving the letters and following through with what Gerry wants her to do. This is a film that uses flashbacks to help you understand certain things. The flashbacks in this film allows the audience to see just how much Gerry loved Holly. It shows that he loved her so much he wanted to help her move on with her life. He wrote those letters knowing that he was going to die. He wanted to help ease Hollys pain after he was gone. I feel that the flashbacks in this film help the film so much, because without them you would never really know how much Gerry loved Holly. This Film used realism acting. This is acting that does not draw attention to itself but instead gives the impression of genuine human action and emotion. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) I believe that both Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler are wild card actors. Wild card actors are actors that can play a wide variety of characters equally without becoming typecast. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) Both Hilary and Gerard I feel are actors that can do any kind of role. Hilary has done roles from Million Dollar Baby to Boys Dont Cry. Gerard has done roles from 300 to Bounty Hunter. Bot h can do comedy, drama, and romance. Which is what P. S. I Love You is. I thinks that the casting in this film was excellent and I do not feel that anyone was miscast. I feel that it helped quite a bit knowing who these actors were before seeing this movie and I do not feel that their persona distracted from their character. While watching this film I forgot that I was watching Hilary Swank and was just watching Holly. There is a scene in the P. S. I LOVE YOU 5 few weeks after Gerrys death where Holly is lip-syncing to a Judy Garland song. I feel that this scene shows us just how much Holly misses Gerry. She has let herself go. Her clothes are dirty as is her hair. The apartment is a total wreck (trash, food, old take-out, and dirty dishes everywhere). When you see all this you view Holly as a depressed and sad person. At the end of the year Holly is clean and dresses very nice and you view her as happy and enjoying her new life. What drew me to this movie in the first place was the title and the actors. After seeing the movie after taking this class I found that I enjoyed the movie in a different and better way. When you notice small things that you did not notice before this class I feel that you can understand the movie better. When you understand how a movie is made it opens up a lot of different aspects of learning for you. If the director is responsible for the film overall, in a general way, the cinematographer is specifically responsible for its look, in very specific, shot–by–shot terms. He or she is responsible for the images that the camera sees, and by extension the images that the audience will see in the finished film. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) This film uses a variety of different shots. They vary fr om long shots, medium long shots, medium shots, and medium close-up shots. Most directors use several takes, and different camera setups or versions, of the same scene. This allows them to pick and choose the best of what they have shot and to put scenes together in the way that most effectively tells the story they are trying to tell. In order to have a variety of shots to edit together, however, all those different types of shots must be photographed in the first place. (Goodykoontz , 2011) This is the job of the Cinematographer and I feel that this cinematographer did an excellent job doing just that. P. S. I LOVE YOU 6 The cinematographer choice in lighting for different parts of the the movie was superb. For the funeral scene the cinematographer used low-key lighting. For the rest of the film he used high-key lighting. I like movies that a full of color. I have only one black and white movie that I like (Casablanca). The cinematographer uses Saturation color, Desaturation color, and The Golden Hour color in this film. Saturation color is deep, vibrant, bright, pure color. (Goodykoontz , 2011) and is used through most of the movie. Desaturation color has been muted, appearing less intense, which contributes to a more realistic, often–gritty look. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) and I feel is used during some f the funeral scene. The Golden Hour color also known as the magic hour (although it actually lasts only about 20 minutes), is the term used for the time of day just before sunrise and the time just after sunset, when colors appear more warm, almost glowing, and there are no shadows, since the sun is not in the sky. (Goodykoontz , 2011) is used during the outdoor scenes in I reland. All three used in the same movie allows the audience to feel different emotions through out the film. For the apartment a narrow focus is used to make the apartment feel smaller and more claustrophobic. When watching a movie at home I prefer watching it in widescreen compared to full screen. Widescreen allows the audience to feel like they are at a movie theater. Watching a movie on full screen feels like you are missing parts of the movie. The cinematographer wants you to focus on the characters more so than the background, but at times I feel like her wants you to also focus on the background at the same time. An example of this would be when Holly and Gerry meet for the first time in Ireland. You are focused on the characters but at the same time you are also focused on the beautiful scenery of Ireland. That is also the same for when the Holly, Denise, and Sharon are stuck on the boat. P. S. I LOVE YOU 7 The editors use fade-out/fade-in and direct cut shots. An example of a fade-out/fade-in shot would be after the opening scene and after the opening credits. An example of a direct cut shot would be when the girls are stuck in the boat on the lake. The next scene shows another boat coming to save them. The editor also used an establishing shot during the scenes to let you know who, what, and where for a scene. An example of this would be when Holly and Gerry meet for the first time. You know that it is Holly and Gerry in the scene, you know that they are meeting for the first time, you also know that they are in Ireland. There is also a lot of shot/reverse-shots in this movie. An example of this would be when Holly and Gerry are in their apartment at their own dressers arguing. The camera moves from Holly to Gerry through out the entire argument so you can see each of their expressions and you can also see if they make faces at each other because of something the other said. There are two kinds of film sound used in this movie. They are dialogue and voice-over. Dialogue is when two or more characters are speaking to each other. Through dialogue you feel how the characters are feeling and also you understand what is happening. An example of this would be when Holly and her mom are arguing that Holly is obsessed with the letters. You understand that Patricia does not like the letters at all. Voice-over is when a character’s voice narrates the action to help the audience understand what is going on. (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) Another form of sound you have in a film is the score or the background music. This music allows the audience to experience a whole other experience during a movie. The score can make you happy, sad, scared, or excited. It also can portray how a character is feeling at the exact moment. P. S. I LOVE YOU 8 To me Richard LaGravenese is a director that likes to tell a story and show meaning in his work. In addition to P. S. I Love You his work includes: Water for Elephants, Freedom Writers, and Living Out Loud. I believe that this film is very well made. I have never seen a movie by this director before I could not tell you about how he approaches the subject matter of the film. I do not know anything about this directors own personal vision, however, by looking at his other pieces of work it seems to me that he runs toward romance and films that tend to have a meaning behind them. For this film I believe his meaning is that after losing a loved one you can move on and have fun again and enjoy your life. This film is a Drama and Romance movie with a sub-genre of comedy. I went into this film thinking it was a romance movie. While watching it a realized that it was a lot more than that. The purpose of a drama is to allow the audience to feel what the characters are feeling. The purpose of a romance is to feel the love that the characters share. The purpose of a comedy is to allow the audience to laugh with the characters. I feel that this is a film that can influence society. I say that because I feel that after seeing a movie like this people would want to have that kind of love. When my sister and I walked out of the theater we both said I want a man to love me like that! This is a film that allows the audience to escape from their daily lives and have a good time. What is more fun than laughing and crying at the same time when watching a movie? To me the answer is nothing is more fun. This film is Rated PG-13 for sexual references and brief nudity. This is definitely not a movie for a child younger than 13. P. S. I LOVE YOU 9 As with all films you will have critics that tell you whether a film is good or not. That critic can be a professional critic, a family member or a friend. I found a phrase and a quote in our text that explains what a critic is. What is a critic? There are many definitions, some of which are unflattering, including as they do charges of jealousy, mean–spiritedness, and flat–out incompetence. Ironically enough, one of the best definitions comes from a character in a film, and in an animated film, at that. In Pixar’s film Ratatouille (2007), Peter O’Toole provides the voice of Anton Ego, a famous food critic feared for his discriminating palate and his withering criticism. When he samples food that has secretly been prepared by a rat, everyone fears the worst (particularly the rat). However, Ego begins his review with a spirited defense of the art of criticism, observations that apply just as much to film criticism as to food criticism. In the movie Ego says, In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations; the new needs friends . . . Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. (Bird, 207) (Goodykoontz Jacobs, 2011) I myself do not read or listen to a critic or a review. If you do and that person said that a movie was bad than you might have missed a very good movie. P. S. I LOVE YOU 10 I watched this movie again with my sister before writing this assignment and as we watched I found myself telling my sister what kind of shots were being used and explaining what a fade-out/fade-in was. Watching this movie after taking these few weeks of class I understood the movie in a different and good way. I believe that the director wanted the audience to feel what Holly does and through his direction I did. After I was finished examining the films different technical elements, I definitely gained a better understanding of the directors vision of the film. In conclusion I want to say that after taking this class and learning all about Storytelling, Acting, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Style and Directing, Societal Impact, Genre, and Film Criticism and Analysis I am more in tune to how a movie is made and find that I enjoy watching movies a little better now that I understand what goes into it. Sometimes theres only one thing left to say P. S. I LOVE YOU P. S. I LOVE YOU 11 References Goodykoontz, B. Jacobs, C. P. (2011) Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG225. 11. 2 IMDB. (2011). P. S. I Love You. Retrieved from http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0431308/combined LaGravenese, R. (Director). (2007). P. S. I Love You. [Motion Picture]. USA: