Slap - British Short Film

Slap is a 2014 British short film directed by Nick Rowland, and starring Joe Cole, which explores the story of a young male boxer exploring his sexuality and identity, and struggling to come to terms with who he is. 

Cinematography: 

One of the key motifs in Slap is mirrors, and they are used frequently throughout, in order to portray the protagonist Connor, as someone with a conflicted personality, and how he lives in a world where he has two sides to himself, and can only show one of them. he is always filmed with his reflection facing the camera, usually in a close up shot, to show how his hidden personality is the person he really is. 

a later scene shows Connor's reflection in a close up, to show his facial expression at being confronted by his girlfriend, and also the broken mirror effect portrays how his personality is becoming more and more fractured due to him having to hide his true identity. 

Mise En Scene: 

Mise En Scene is a important part of displaying Connor's conflicted personality in Slap, as in this frame you see an objectifying poster of a woman, showing how he is expected to be a stereotypical masculine man, which can also be made of aware of with the constant reoccurring prop of Connor's boxing gloves. 

The set of the film is also used to try and portray the stereotypical expectations of masculinity, by portraying Connor in the same frame as a contraception dispenser, with the word 'stud' being the focus point, making the spectator associate with being a man, with having to be tough and masculine, when this film tries to break that down. 

Colour is also expressively used to display emotions of characters within this film, especially in the final sequence, where the red lighting illuminates both Lola and Connor, highlighting the heightened emotional state they are both in, with them both feeling angry and upset with each other. 

Performance:

Another key motif of Slap, is the portrayal of hands, and how they are used violently and also intimately and emotionally. 

in this frame you see Connor practicing his boxing by throwing his hands at the camera, almost breaking the 4th wall, but also dressed in a feminine dress. the contradictory nature of this sequence shows the two elements of what hands are mainly used for by Connor in this film. For both fighting and exerting violence, but also for expressing himself through makeup and women's clothes. 

Connor's girlfriend, Lola, also uses her hands as a key part of her performance to portray her emotional connection towards Connor. 

in the frame below she is seen as caressing his face to show her love towards him, but also to try and make him aware of the ridiculousness of what he is wearing. again you can see Connor's reflection in the mirror, but not Lola's, to show how Connor's true identity doesn't involve Lola.