Tanika Singh

Short film analysis

In the short film Love Hurts, many codes and conventions of the romantic drama genre can
be seen throughout the film. The subject of the film is based on a lady who is being abused
by her boyfriend and is trapped in her controlling relationship. Throughout the course of the
film, the young lady appears to be scared and seems to tread on eggshells around her
boyfriend. The title Love Hurts gives the audience an idea that the short film will be based
on the topic of domestic abuse. The title creates the idea that the lady in the film is being
abused, but loves her partner too much to see that she should not be with him.
The first scene opens with low lighting. A close up reveals a lady with bruising around her
eye, however the audience is unaware of what has caused it thus creating an enigma. A
two shot then revels the lady sitting with her friend, having a chat over tea and cake.
Diegetic dialogue is used when the two friends are talking and laughing. The laughing
suggests that the lady with the bruised eye is okay and is enjoying herself, making the
audience question what is going on. The laughter among the two ladies creates a somewhat
happy atmosphere, however this contrasts with the extremely low lighting bringing the
atmosphere down. Barthes enigma codes is used throughout the first scene to create
mystery and confusion within the audience.
In the second scene, a man appears from the kitchen and enters the living room, where the
two girls are. Diegetic dialogue is used as the man says you alright, girls? Although the
man hasnt said anything harmful or threatening, the lady with a bruised eye instantly
lowers her head and her voice. This creates the idea that something is wrong as it looks like
the lady with a bruised eye is somewhat frightened of the man. Later on in the scene, the
lady without a bruised eye decides its time for her to leave as she has to be somewhere. A
close up shot of the lady with a bruised eye reveals her troubled face as she says please,
why dont you stay for longer? This suggests that the lady does not want to be left alone
with the man who appears to be her boyfriend.
In the next scene, the man appears to be angry as he shouts why did you want her to stay
so badly, dont you want to be with me? Dont you care about me? this finally reveals to
the audience that the boyfriend is verbally, as well as emotionally abusive. While the man is
shouting, the lady is quickly trying to calm him down. This infuriates him even more as a
medium shot reveals him spilling his tea on himself and burning himself. A long shot shows
him lashing out at his girlfriend as he pushes her onto the floor. A close up shows the lady
covering her face before her boyfriend pushes her. This suggests that she is sued to abuse as
she was expecting it.