How to Write

a Film Review
Outline
Warm-up
The Structure of a Film Review
Steps to write a film review
Types of films/genres
Useful vocabulary and language for a film review
WARM-UP
What is a film review (for)?
Have you ever read one?
Did your reading of a film review encourage you to see
that film?
A Film Review is
a short description of a film, where the writer:
provides details of the movie analyzed,
gives his/her opinion or recommendation of the film.
The register used may be formal or semi-formal de-
pending on the addressees and kind of newspaper or
magazine where it will be published.
Present tenses and a variety of adjectives are fre-
quently used.
What is a film review for?
Writing a movie review is a great way of express-
ing your opinion of a movie.
The purpose of most movie reviews is to help
readers in determining whether they want to
watch, rent or buy the movie.
The review should give enough details about the
movie that the reader can make an informed deci-
sion, without giving anyway any essentials such as
the plot or any surprises.
What is a film review for?
Similar to the purpose of writing book reviews, movie
reviews analyze the effectiveness of the plot, theme,
acting, direction, special effects, musical effects, cin-
ematography, and all other elements that created the
movie.
Cinematography:
the art or science of motion picture photography. It is the
technique of movie photography, including both the
shooting and development of the film.
영화 예술 [ 촬영술 ]
THE STRUCTURE OF A FILM REVIEW
It should consist of 3 different parts:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Introduction
Introduction (1st paragraph)
It summarizes all the background information of the
film.
It may include references to the title, director, type of
film( comedy, adventure, drama, etc.), setting (place and
time), characters, etc.
Body
Body: it may contain two paragraphs
2nd paragraph: it offers a summary of the plot focusing
on the main aspects.
3rd paragraph: it includes general comments on the
plot, the development of the main characters, the act-
ing, the direction, etc.
Note: the end should not be revealed to the reader
Conclusion
Conclusion (4th paragraph)
The writer provides a general assessment of the film,
and his/her opinion about it.
The writer recommends or does not recommend the
movie. He/she should give reasons to support his/her
opinion about the film.
PROCESS-1ST STEP
1. Watch a film with a critical eye. Write
down the description of the most significant
parts and details which you will include into
your work.
PROCESS-2ND STEP
2. Take note ofinformation on the director,
main characters, historical period used in
this film, soundtrack, editing and camera
work.
PROCESS-3RD STEP
3. Write an outline with the main ideas you
want to develop in each paragraph.
Remember to include a topic sentence
which summarizes the main idea of each
paragraph.
PROCESS-4TH STEP
4. First draft: start writing the paper con-
sidering the structure presented (4 different
paragraphs).
Be creative and use quite a lot of cinema-re-
lated vocabulary.
PROCESS-5TH STEP
5. Edit and proofread your final review for mistakes
(grammatical, spelling, word-order, etc.)
Avoid vocabulary repetition
Check that you have followed the 4-paragraph structure.
Use an appropriate register (formal or semi-formal).
Contractions, abbreviations, colloquial language should
be avoided.
Check margins, font type and size, double-spacing, etc.
Ask a partner to read your film review to get some feed-
back before submitting your work.
TYPES OF FILMS/GENRES
Science fiction (sci-fi)
Comedy/sit-coms (situation comedies)
Romance/love story
Horror film (not terror film)
Thriller
Spy film
Musical
TYPES OF FILMS/GENRES
Detective story
Mystery film
Adventure/action film
Biography
Animated film/Cartoon
Historical
War film
Gangster film
USEFUL WORDS
Soundtrack
Script
Plot/storyline
Stunts (stuntman)
Special effects
Box-office hit
Rehearsal
Masterpiece
Star (verb/noun)
USEFUL WORDS
Hero/heroine
Opening
End/ending
Episode
Premiere
Climax
Cast of characters
Leading/supporting character
Sequence/scene
USEFUL ADJECTIVES
Positive adjectives
Interesting, good, exciting, funny, fantastic, amusing,
moving, excellent, entertaining, realistic
long-running, well-developed, convincing, gripping
Negative adjectives
Boring, sad, bad, poor, dull, terrible, dreadful, thrilling,
predictable, unimaginative, weak, frightening, scary,
unbelievable
USEFUL LANGUAGE
1st paragraph-Background
This film is set in…; the movie tells the story
of…; this excellent film is based on…
2nd paragraph-Summary of the plot
The storyline/plot focuses on …; the film
reaches its climax…; the story begins…
USEFUL LANGUAGE
3rd paragraph-Comments on the film
This acting/development of the main (leading)
character is fascinating/excellent…; The script is
bight/dull…The end is surprising / predictable
4th paragraph-Conclusion
It is worth seeing…; I would/would not recommend it
because …; Do not miss it…
Checklist
□ I have included a title for my film review.
□ I have summarized the plot without giving away the
ending.
□ I have included a strong lead/introduction.
□ I have discussed significant characters and actors.
□ I have discussed important technical elements.
□ I have evaluated the sound and/or movie soundtrack.
□ I have stated and evaluated the theme.
□ I have included a strong conclusion summarizing my
ideas.
□ I have edited my review for spelling and grammatical
errors.
Film Review
The Truman
Show
The Truman Show
Part 1
Part 2
Truman Burbank has been on television all of his life,
the only thing is he doesn't know it yet. Truman Bur-
bank's (Jim Carrey) whole life, unbeknown to him, has
been televised. He is the star of the Truman Show the
ultimate in reality television shows. He has been raised
in the town of Sea haven, which in reality is a giant
film set built inside a massive artificial dome (at last a
use for the Millennium Dome). His whole environ-
ment, including the weather, is control by the shows
creator Christof (Ed Harris) and his team.
They introduce characters and plot lines into Truman's
life as if it were a soap opera, but things are not going
well for them as due to a number of accidents Truman is
beginning to suspect that there is something wrong with
his life. Despite reassurances from his best fried Marlon
(Noah Emmerich), the breakdown of his on screen wife
Meryl (Laura Linney) leads him towards the truth. Will
he be reunited his true love Lauren (Natascha McEl-
hone), or will Christof ensure that the whole of his life is
televised? There is only one way to find out, and that is
to watch the Truman Show.
Part 3
This is one of the most brilliantly original films to come out of Holly-
wood in the recent years. It is a damning indictment of the current
trends in television (Big Brother style reality television taken to its ulti-
mate conclusion). It is an intelligent and witty piece of drama, but above
all of this it is massively entertaining.
Lets take a look at why. Firstly we have the direction of Peter Wier (Wit-
ness, Picnic at Hanging Rock) who has used a brilliant selection of
techniques that make this film work. Every time that we see Truman we
are actually watching the Truman Show. This is achieved by the use of
odd camera angles, fish eye lens effects, and shots supposedly from be-
hind one way glass. The overall effect is stunning. It draws the audience
in and leaves you in no doubt that we are actually watching a person
that is begin unwitting filmed, and that we are really watching the same
television show as the viewers in the film. This so easily could have gone
very wrong, with the result that we would be just left confused.
Many other neat tricks are used on top of this including the synchronization of
extras so that they look like extras. I can't believe that this would have been
easy, as filmmakers for the whole of their lives have been trying to achieve the
exact opposite. The response of the Truman Show viewers is also used to great
effect, as we get to see what a consistent few viewers think about what we our-
selves are watching. I really could go on all day extolling the virtues of the di-
rection and scripting techniques used, but its suffice to say that it really is top
class.
This leads me to the impressive script written by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca). The
dialogue is intelligent and original. The way in which only Truman is allowed to
make decisions and the other cast members are appearing to ad-lib is well
implemented. It questions our love of television and just how far should we go
in the name of entertainment. That's not to say it is serious, far from it there
are many moments of gentle comedy. What is most impressive is the fact that
it never has to result to extremes to get its message across (no violence, no sex,
or much swearing for that matter).
Part 4
A special mention must be made of Burkhart von Dallwitz's (Super-
nova) music score, which compliments the action perfectly. It is rare
that a score is integrated with a script quite so seamlessly.
The biggest surprise of all is Jim Carrey. He is well known for his
madcap, zany, comedies, and people either love him or hate him.
What he is not known for is subtlety, and here he is a revelation. He
is fantastic, delivering a performance of a lifetime, and with a great
deal of acting talent (maybe he should try it more often). The sup-
porting cast are also faultless, especially Laura Linney who convinc-
ingly falls apart on screen desperately relying on product placement
in an attempt to deal with Truman. It is a rare pleasure to say that all
of the cast, from main stars, to the extras do a fine job and are fault-
less.
Part 5
As you can tell I really rate the Truman Show. It is a film
that can be enjoyed by anyone, and in repeated viewings
many subtleties can be uncovered. If I have any criticism
it would be that it is a little lightweight and maybe a lit-
tle too sweet (although this is intentionally so!), but this
a very minor consideration. In an age of remakes, se-
quels, and special effect movies the Truman Show is
head and shoulders above the rest.
Watch the Truman Show, everyone else is. Oh one last
thing, in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good
evening, and good night.
madcap ： an impulsive, reckless, or lively person
zany ： one who acts the clown to amuse others
ad-lib
Ad-lib is used to describe individual moments during
live theatre when an actor speaks through their
character using words not found in the play's text.
In film the term ad-lib usually refers to the interpola-
tion （ inserting ） of unscripted material in an oth-
erwise scripted performance.