Only lasting an hour and fifteen minutes, Run felt very lean and raw. The exposition was concise, but designed to give us a very strong idea of our main character. Really all we need to know is that she is well-off and hardworking, a very strong individual.
The rest of the film pits this archetypal character against a lawless environment. At night in Lagos, all of the security and structure that she usually experiences is gone. It's interesting that as mentioned in class, the protagonist does not compromise on her moral principles. Through the repetitive stop/run cycle, she's effectively the same person. This aspect seemed to me very different from what we'd expect from Hollywood cinema. Typically, we praise films and narratives with character development and evolution.
While the concision of the movie seemed very non-Hollywood, Run also drew on some melodramatic techniques that seemed much more at home in our native cinema. There was the frequent use of slow-motion shots, to intensify the drama. The narration at the beginning also called Hollywood to mind.
The ending of the film caught me off guard. The protagonist has finally escaped her various assailants and returned to her structured life. The corrupt senator is behind bars. Then she hails a taxi and finds the driver who attacked her? It reminded me of one of those "gotcha" moments at the end of horror movies. For me, at least, it was an unexpected and almost cheap ending for a serious and thoughtful film.
I think what threw me off was that it wasn't very driven by the character's complex or development. I think cheap is an interesting word to phrase the dissapointment. I thought the ending was quite uplifting but I do understand the fact that it didn't have anything extra to add onto the character. I think the end was powerful in the way that it reflects to the readings; the rebranding of a culture's identity and accountability, in a way.
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ReplyDeleteI found the ending a bit unexpected as well, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. Sometimes those types of endings are fun, but for this film it just felt a bit unsatisfying to me. Especially after she just kept having one misfortune after another, she didn't catch a break even at the end. I thought the ending would more optimistic.
ReplyDeleteThis is very much a Nigeria story told through a Hollywood lens. The concern for public welfare is very present for Nigerians as I tried to illustrate with the "This Is Nigeria" video. The structure for the film is pretty unrelentingly Hollywood though in its pacing and structure. In a way, it sacrifices character development for an intense focus on action. I think all of this makes the film work and not work.
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