Franklyn Trailer Deconstruction

The teaser trailer for “Franklyn” immediately presents itself in the parallel universes of “Meanwhile City” and real-life London. This gives an audience the instant impression that it is a sci-fi/fantasy film and that part of it is not “real”. Indeed, one character remarks; “If you believe in something strongly enough, who's to say if it's real or not?”.

The darkness of Meanwhile City, the disguise of the masked man and the dark clothing of the guards/police give a strong sense of danger and mystery. Adding to the danger, at the beginning of the trailer, one character, heard through a voiceover, says; “Tonight... I'm going to kill a man”. This is played over a visual of the character putting together a sniper rifle, which creates a sense of unease within the audience, as they fear that something violent is going to happen. The dark, uniformed appearance of the guards/police is reminiscent of Orwell's “Thought Police” in “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, and its 1984 film adaptation.

All three characters, in their real-life London forms, are introduced after a shot of a black screen with the words “Three strangers”. This adds to the sense of mystery within the narrative of the film, and the unease as an audience does not know how their lives will connect. The anchorage of the trailer is also futuristic, adding to the sci-fi nature of the film.

The images of Meanwhile City show it to be dark, bleak, “unforgiving” and archaic in appearance, with clear similarities with post-Industrial Revolution London. While there seems to be danger in both “worlds”, Meanwhile City is presented as the threat to both.

The fast-paced straight cuts between shots of the masked character fighting creates a major shift as the rest of the trailer had previously been slow-paced, and adds pace to the trailer, showing the audience that the film also has an action feel to it. The speed of the music, which increases, also adds to the tension of the trailer, especially during these action shots.

The fact that Franklyn was made using a relatively low budget gives the trailer a more gritty feel to it. This, and that Franklyn is a dystopian fantasy film, makes it an ideal film to research as the dystopian nature is relevant to our trailer's narrative.