Eniola Silva Sarah: 1) Inside my characters mind it is misty and therefore unclear, the image connotes the only

thoughts that consume her mind and that is the separation between her and her partner. They both have their backs turned away from each other and this represents their lack of communication and dislike for each other. Sarahs partner is in the background and his posture represents indifference and due to the image not showing either of their faces, this connotes that the audience and even Sarah herself does not know her true personality because it keeps being clouded and fogged up by her partner. The image is not completely clear and so represents their relationship and the strain within it, it also represents Sarahs closed attitude and inability to open up and share herself with others around her and due to the fact that the only other noticeable figure is that of her partner the audience can deconstruct that he has a major impact and influence on her life and is a domineering, overwhelming and consistent aspect of her every thought.

2) Sarahs physical appearance is beautiful; her face always appears immaculate and flawless. Her face is so perfect and cluttered with make-up that her natural beauty has been covered and her face is not exposed but instead covered with the synthetic beauty that make-up makes available. No longer does her make-up enhance her beauty, it instead hides her and creates a new face for her. The real reason that Sarah hides/masks her face behind make up is in order to conceal the physical damages on her face, caused by her partner. Sarahs face connotes her relationship with others in the film- on the surface she appears happy, beautiful, flawless and borderline perfect, but just like behind the make-up, her true emotions are mirrors of the bruises and wounds on her face. Just like she uses make-up to hide flaws created by her partner, she has a jovial attitude and huge smiles to hide the depression created from being with her partner. She has worn her mask of make up for so long that it seems there is longer a difference between her and the mask that she wears, so much so that she longs for its return and the protection it gave her from the reality of her life.

Eniola Silva 3) The image of the baby represents Sarahs personas of vulnerability, purity, naturally sweet nature and dependence on those she loves or believes cares for her. The baby image also represents her naivety and her easy ability to trust in the goodness of any person that she meets, and gives her enough attention. Sarah has a child-like submission she incorporates towards those that she respects. These attributes are shown to be gradually stripped from her by the dark figure- which the audience later finds out is James, her partner- until like the shattered heart image her heard is broken and she snaps and retaliates the best way she knows how (by killing him). The love within their relationship has been destroyed and all that left is the I and U. The I within the image is not as damaged as the U on which side the glass (heart) has broken the most and has become completely shattered, so much so that the heart imagery is denoted primarily by the half heart shape, formed from the side where I is written.

Eniola Silva

Eniola Silva James: 1) There is practically no access to James mind and thoughts mostly due to the fact that the story is from the viewpoint of Sarah. Also the character type of James is quite closed and he is not an overly emotional character- the audience dont view much emotional change within James, but the emotion that occurs the most is anger, which he aims and releases towards Sarah. The audience will be able to deconstruct some likely reasons why James behaves as he does and in accordance with most domestic abusers, he has a troubled past which has severely scarred him and contributed towards him becoming brutal and bitter. As a result of his past he trusts no one and opens himself to no-one; and those that manage to get close to him (Sarah), he mistreats- the same ways he is hurting. His actions are in line with the saying hurting people hurt others. 2) James is a character who can appear happy despite feeling depressed, just like his partner he puts on a facade to try and fool those that surround him. Many times the audience view him as a jovial character that is desperately in love- with Sarah- and has a dark, unnerving and never revealed past. The dark aspect of his personality are subliminally shown, and noticed by Sara, however she constant ignores his changes in personality and creates excuses for his sometimes awkward change in character. The real him, is the dark character he tries to conceal with a bright and joyful smile. In this aspect James and Sarah are similar- Sarah uses make-up to conceal her physical and emotional wounds caused by James and James tries to clothe his emotional wounds caused by his violent past. 3) The illuminated red heart connotes that James despite his many faults and flaws has the capability to love, but the surrounding black backgrounds shows that he chooses not to; and instead prefers to conceal his heart with darkness. The red heart is placed on a large surface which emphasises the smallness of it, and seems to be placed carelessly this represents that the love he has is limited and perhaps the reason why he hurts those he loves and cares for. The heart is made of glass to represent the fragility of it and how easy it is to anger, annoy and not retain his love. 4) This is an image of a chameleon replicating the colours of a lady bug, this image represent James ability to mirror the characteristics that he believes those that are around him expect from him. He is a peoples person and knows how to get along with anyone and everyone. As a result it is easy fir him to gain the trusts of others and the reason why people like and respect him a lot. He can camouflage himself so well that those that surround him no longer seem him as a chameleon but as a lady bug- one of them- when the truth is he is not and never will be, his true character traits have been suppressed but in the end people always find out he is an imposter and sometimes like Sarah by the time they find out, he has caused a significant amount of damage. Due to their belief in his false attributes people dismiss his strange behaviour and do not characterise him as the mean and malicious character he is behind closed doors- in terms of his relationship with Sarah and the thoughts that envelope his mind (which being locked, no one has access to).

Eniola Silva