The 26 minute short film, 'Wasp' (2003) is a socio-realist piece that depicts a struggling single mother juggling her maternal role looking after her children in poverty and squalor, and her youthful past as she tries to rekindle her relationship with her old ex-boyfriend.
The film's exposition begins in media-res, caught in a violent brawl between the main character Zoe and her neighbour over a fight between their own children. As Zoe's neigbour - nicknamed 'Bullet Head'- hits her on the ground, she declares that she is not fit to look after her children and that she'll call social services; following this, Zoe and her daughters Kelly, Leanne and Sinead storm off and turn back to give a rude gesture, as shown above.
From the beginning, 'Wasp' immediately shows the deprivation and sheer danger that Zoe and her family are enduring, the mise-en-scene includes a banal colour palette and the stairs of a council flat, and the camera alternates between close ups and extreme close ups focusing on the children's' dirty clothing, the baby's lack of diapers and their bare feet devoid of shoes, all the while keeping a constant hand held unstable camera close to their predicament. This completes the exposition in Gustav Freytag's 3 Act Structure and presents to the viewer the situation in which the movie will revolve around.
In accordance to the 3 Act Structure, there is the inciting incident which triggers the issue the protagonist has to resolve; in this instance it is when Zoe meets her old flame Dave and indulges him with the lie that her children are someone else's while accepting his offer for drinks. She tells him that rather than coming to her home, she will meet him there at the pub later, whilst her kids sit at the side of the curb waiting for her. This is the scene in which Zoe's predicament is conceived - she must hide her kids from Dave in order to meet him.
The Structure continues in the rising action of the film, in which a series of things occur to cause Zoe's misfortune. The scene at home shows expired bread in the kitchen and a dirty interior, and Zoe has to give her children sugar to eat as they have nothing else - this reveals the level of poverty that Zoe's family is in. The shaky movements of the camera emit an unnerving atmosphere, particularly when Zoe and her children are walking across a bridge with busy traffic below, and when the children walk near roads.
The rising action culminates in the pub scene; Zoe is meeting Dave but has to leave her children outside the pub and she does this until it becomes dark. She cannot afford a drink for herself, the kids outside become hungry but the pub doesn't sell food, she can only give them crisps and a glass of coke. She has to keep checking on the children while hiding them from Dave who is inside the pub and oblivious to her situation.
The problem exacerbates when the camera shows the children playing carelessly in the foreground near a bustling road in the background, signifying danger. Drunk and dangerous men walk past the children which is also worrying and they eventually become so hungry that Kelly resorts to rummaging through a bin. As Zoe leaves the pub her nosy neighbour questions who is looking after the children and threatens again to call social services. Finally, while Zoe is Dave's car, the baby Kai swallows a wasp (which has been an uncomfortable motif already shown in the film) and as the children scream she runs out of the car.
The last part of the 3 Act Structure - the resolution - is presented when Dave discovers that Zoe was hiding her children and offers them a ride home. The film ends on an enigmatic note as the car drives away while the children eat and sing. It is not clear whether they will escape this life.
The film's exposition begins in media-res, caught in a violent brawl between the main character Zoe and her neighbour over a fight between their own children. As Zoe's neigbour - nicknamed 'Bullet Head'- hits her on the ground, she declares that she is not fit to look after her children and that she'll call social services; following this, Zoe and her daughters Kelly, Leanne and Sinead storm off and turn back to give a rude gesture, as shown above.
From the beginning, 'Wasp' immediately shows the deprivation and sheer danger that Zoe and her family are enduring, the mise-en-scene includes a banal colour palette and the stairs of a council flat, and the camera alternates between close ups and extreme close ups focusing on the children's' dirty clothing, the baby's lack of diapers and their bare feet devoid of shoes, all the while keeping a constant hand held unstable camera close to their predicament. This completes the exposition in Gustav Freytag's 3 Act Structure and presents to the viewer the situation in which the movie will revolve around.
In accordance to the 3 Act Structure, there is the inciting incident which triggers the issue the protagonist has to resolve; in this instance it is when Zoe meets her old flame Dave and indulges him with the lie that her children are someone else's while accepting his offer for drinks. She tells him that rather than coming to her home, she will meet him there at the pub later, whilst her kids sit at the side of the curb waiting for her. This is the scene in which Zoe's predicament is conceived - she must hide her kids from Dave in order to meet him.
The Structure continues in the rising action of the film, in which a series of things occur to cause Zoe's misfortune. The scene at home shows expired bread in the kitchen and a dirty interior, and Zoe has to give her children sugar to eat as they have nothing else - this reveals the level of poverty that Zoe's family is in. The shaky movements of the camera emit an unnerving atmosphere, particularly when Zoe and her children are walking across a bridge with busy traffic below, and when the children walk near roads.
The rising action culminates in the pub scene; Zoe is meeting Dave but has to leave her children outside the pub and she does this until it becomes dark. She cannot afford a drink for herself, the kids outside become hungry but the pub doesn't sell food, she can only give them crisps and a glass of coke. She has to keep checking on the children while hiding them from Dave who is inside the pub and oblivious to her situation.
The problem exacerbates when the camera shows the children playing carelessly in the foreground near a bustling road in the background, signifying danger. Drunk and dangerous men walk past the children which is also worrying and they eventually become so hungry that Kelly resorts to rummaging through a bin. As Zoe leaves the pub her nosy neighbour questions who is looking after the children and threatens again to call social services. Finally, while Zoe is Dave's car, the baby Kai swallows a wasp (which has been an uncomfortable motif already shown in the film) and as the children scream she runs out of the car.
The last part of the 3 Act Structure - the resolution - is presented when Dave discovers that Zoe was hiding her children and offers them a ride home. The film ends on an enigmatic note as the car drives away while the children eat and sing. It is not clear whether they will escape this life.
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