We Need to Talk to Kevin

Poster Analysis

Film poster

Mise-en-scene: The abundance of the colour red is a significant convention of a horror film. An audience may assume

it is a horror by choice of the colour and that it may involve death and

brutality. However this is a Drama film with elements of horror and thriller, so the colour were chosen to allow for

narrative enigma and keep the audience guessing. The setting is

unknown of the shallow focus is used to blur the background, keeping the foreground clear This adds to the

uneasy atmosphere and creates fear of the unknown, which many people can relate to. Therefore this film can appeal to a wide range of people, In particular

those who enjoy stories with a twists and horror.

The key image on the poster of Tilda Swinton who play Kevin’s mother in the film ‘ We need to talk about Kevin’. She is known for playing the fearsome Ice Queen in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the

Wardrobe which creates a clear contrast to this vulnerable and nervous role of a mother. As she's not centred in

the poster, this slows she is clearly isolate and there's nothing else around her. She stares vacantly out of frame with her eyes bugling slightly and her mouth half open. Her face implies an

image of horror and disbelief. In addition she looks as though she is

troubled and deep in though, which implies that she is lonely, unstable character with trouble in her life.

The title in particular is written

in bold capitals which

enables the title to look

serious and austere. It is

exceptionally larger than

the rest of the text on the

page, which give the

impression that the title is

being directed to you, the

audience. Moreover this

signified the bitterness of

the film. This is used to

draw attention towards

the main things on the

page, the title and image.

The red represents the

violence and anger in

particular characters; her

son as the white

represents the purity and

innocence of the mother.

A MCU( medium close-up) is used in order to portray

the protagonist in relation to her surroundings and

show the audience that she is alone. Her face is the

focus of the poster and is used to add a dramatic

impact, shown from her facial expressions which reflect

her emotions. They have used a wide camera lens in

order to allow enough room on the left hand side and

centre for the text . This also adds to the essence of

darkness and creates a lonely atmosphere. This all add

to the genre of the film.