Analysis of a Short Film - Gasman by Lynne Ramsay

This is the film Gasman - It tells the story of a man having two families and their daughters not getting on.
It begins with showing a man's shoe being polished which straight away says that he is going to a important event. A little girls feet (Lynne) then run past and the camera pans up to show a hallway with the man sitting down. With the mise-en-scene you can tell that this is set in 70/80's along with the diegetic Christmas music in the background.
A woman speaks and you can immediately tell that they are Scottish from her accent.
The next scene shows a boy (Steven) running a toy car over a mantelpiece. He pours salt over it with dietetic music in the background with 'let it snow' playing.
A man is shown smoking, perhaps saying that he is stressed, or is just part of a routine. Clothes are exchanged, and it goes back to Steven playing with the salt. He turns over the car and makes noises like the car has been in an accident - perhaps saying that this is a fear of his or that although it is near Christmas he's unhappy as he made a mess with the salt and the car had an accident. The scene then changes to Lynne and she is rushing as she tries to pull up her tights and put on her shoes. The camera is very angled so that we don't see her face at all inside the house. She does a little dance for her mother and then does the 'there's no place like home' from the wizard of oz - perhaps saying that this is her favorite film or she relates to it in some way. She then gets cornered by her mother, and as she tells her to life her arms up the camera cuts to the very top of her hands. It slowly pans down to her head where she complains her mother is hurting her as she pulls down the dress.
This then reveals her face which is the first face we see of the film. You see very little of the adults faces the whole way through, suggesting that this story is from the child's point of view or that adults are not important from their view.
The mother turns around and you can see that she is wearing a dressing gown - but underneath is a blouse and a pencil skirt, suggesting she is off to work or about to go to a event.
The camera pulls back and pans round as she shuts the door and goes to stand by the window - the reflection the window still covers her face, you don't see her eyes at all so you are left to use the rest of her body language to figure out how she's feeling.
The next scene shows the father swinging his daughter round as his son catches up and them walking over train tracks. The camera pans up showing him giving his daughter a piggy back while his son trails behind and this shows that he has a better relationship with his daughter. The shot has all the flats behind them which shows that this could have been set in Glasgow. They've edited the show to have vignette around it, which could show that this is like a faded memory or a memory for the children. The father then puts Lynne down and you can see him looking for someone - the camera then changes to sit behind the daughter and you see another woman and two children with her - another young girl and boy. The camera angle on Lynne shows her looking angry/suspicious towards the new arrivals. She gives the other girl a dirty look and calls them tramps, perhaps saying that she doesn't want to share her dads attention.
The scene then changes to a conversation between the dad and the other woman. She looks at him right in the eyes throughout the conversation and he looks down and rarely meets her in the eyes - this says that he is guilty of something, which is cheating. She asks why he hasn't been to see her and he evades the question - this further backs up the look of guilt he has in his body language and she sees this. A close up happens of him reaches out to touch her hair and her moving away, showing that she suspects he isn't being truthful and doesn't want him to touch her until he is.
The two girls begin talking with Lynne being quite forceful onto the other girl - Elise. They make friends and hold hands while running through the train tracks - a symbol of innocence and friendship.
The mise en scene in the next scene is that of a pub dressed up for Christmas - there is a Santa dancing with a child and tinsel and a tree. Men are drinking and smoking while sat in corner showing that this is a Christmas party or a potential work Christmas party. The two girls dance together with dietetic music playing in the background. The dad seems lost to his thoughts. The boys in the pub all begin to playfight while the girls all dance together with the Santa.
Lynne sees Elise with her dad and finally realizes that something it going on - the camera is mid shot showing all of her face and has emphasize on her eyes. Lynne then goes to confront her and exclaims that its her 'daddy's knee' and Elise says that its hers. Lynne then begins to scrap with Elise. Their dad ignores it until he steps in and then tells Lynne he doesn't care about their scrap and ignores them - this can show hes trying to hide that he has another family or that he could be trying to discourage her and make her think she said something else.
The scene then changes to them walking home, with Lynne saying she doesn't want to hold hands with her - they have lost the innocence they had earlier with that statement. The boys also keep constantly barging shoulders and bumping into each other. The camera becomes a close up their hands, showing that Lynne is gripping hard. The end scene is of Lynne picking up a rock and eventually deciding to not throw it at her dads other family, showing that maybe she doesnt have bad feelings towards the other girl after all.