Analysis of Candy Film Trailer

The trailer for ‘Candy’ begins with soft non-diegetic music playing along with the production company logo, ‘ThinkFilm’. A low angled medium close-up shot is shown of a man diving into water, which straight away signifies neutrality and tranquility for an audience, suggesting this film is a romantic one. A non-diegetic voice over begins with a deep male voice, most probably the thoughts of the man jumping into the water as a two shot is shown of the man kissing a woman under the water. The soft non-diegetic music starts again with an underwater shot of bubbles rising to the surface, again connoting calmness and neutrality.

Another two shot is shown of the couple swimming underwater, which dissolves into a close-up of a water ripple onscreen. The non-diegetic voice also starts again with, ‘when I first met Candy’ as we see a medium shot of the girl opening a door, suggesting to the audience that the woman is the eponymous hero; Candy. The girl is wearing a colourful summer dress which connotes happiness and sets the scene in terms of what time of year this is. She also has blonde wavy hair which suggests she is a feminine character and a ‘free spirit’ by wearing her hair down as well as such a colourful dress.

A low angle long shot is shown of gold stars falling from the sky, which is shown to be a match-on-action shot as they are shown falling on Candy from a high angled close-up shot. A long shot is then shown of people in formal attire, Candy in the middle holding balloons and smiling, suggesting this is her family and they are celebrating a special occasion. This shot which connotes happiness and excitement is then contrasted by a cut to a two shot of the couple sitting outside in what appears to be an neglected garden with bricks strewn everywhere and overgrown plants, which signifies a certain isolation and strange, obliviousness the couple have toward the world around them, which brings the two closer together, allowing the audience to focus on their relationship.

A medium two shot is then shown of the couple in a car alone; again, showing their isolation from the outside world. This then leads to other two shots of the couple, lying in bed next to one another, kissing, and just looking at one another which makes the audience feel uneasy at this strange, dysfunctional and warped relationship the two have, which is portrayed more as an addiction than love.

A medium shot of a middle-aged woman dressed smartly is shown crying and asking, ‘what happened to my beautiful little girl?’ which suggests she is the mother of Candy and is concerned for her wellbeing and safety. The couple are then individually shown in medium close-ups, crying and looking exhausted and ill. A two shot is then shown of Candy slapping the man across the face which shows the audience that the relationship is becoming dangerous and violent. The exhausted looks on their faces suggest they have been taking drugs and the violence proves this assumption further as the effects are highlighted.

A black screen is shown at the climax of this heated, volume increasing, speed increasing part of the trailer, before the contrasting first clip is shown again, only with Candy underwater, not her lover. More two shots are then shown of the two hugging and kissing, but not in a passionate way as before, more so a desperate and needy way as they are both suffering with drug addictions. The male’s non-diegetic voice over starts again with, ‘I wasn’t trying to wreck Candy’s life’, which suggests to the audience that he was the one to start her using drugs.

A long shot of Candy getting into a parked car on a street at night is shown, suggesting she is prostituting herself, as a close-up is then shown of her lover watching in a car behind. Close-ups of him and Candy are then shown smiling and happy, before a high angled close-up of the man screaming in a shower is shown, connoting fear and pain, usually a convention used in horror films to portray danger. More two shots are shown of the couple; happy, smiling, kissing and cuddling, before the white bold title fades in with a black background, ‘Candy’ followed by, ‘more is never enough’ which is an ambiguous phrase for an audience, as it could be referring to the love between the couple, or the drugs they take.