To What extent does 'A room for Romeo Brass' follow the genric conventions of social realism

Better than any other genre, social realism has shown us to ourselves, pushing the boundaries in the effort to put the experiences of real Britons on the screen, and shaping our ideas of what British cinema can be. While our cinema has experienced all the fluctuations in fortune of Hollywood's first export territory, realism has been Britain's richest gift to world cinema. In 'A room for Romeo Brass' I think that it follows the genric conventions of social realsim. In the film youngsters Romeo and Gavin are best mates with a shared sense of humour that helps them to survive the landscape of broken dreams; but their friendship is about to be put to the test when a dangerous and infliltrating stranger attempts to break the young boys friendship. Morell played by Paddy Considine saves them from getting beaten up by two older lads and the boys are only too happy to help him in his quest to date Romeo's sister Vicky. The two boys dont realsie that they have let a dangerous and predatory like man into their lives and he threatens to commit a breach in their frienship.
            As soon as the film starts we see the two boys in a field. The type of camer shot used here is mise-en-scence and this is essentially the name given to the design and arranging of the frame. This generally includes location design, props and also the actors clothing and additional information that tells us about the characters. This first impression provides me with a wealth of information about the characters, such as their status; Romeo is a slightly chubby mix-raced boy with a certain confidence to him, where as Gavin is a skinny white boy who has a condition with his spine. Also we can distinguish that from the clothes the boys have on their parents must be from a working class family, because the clothes are not designer or expensive, but at the same time they are not dressed in rags and old clothes. There are some parts of the film which do not follow the genric conventions of social realism though, like when the two boys are in a field, this is enigmatic because where could there be a field that large close to the run down area that the boys live in and also how could Gavin of got there with his spinal injury. The film follows the genric conventions of social realism because there is an establish shot of the local which is Shane Meadows and it is usually one of the opening first shots in the opening scene designed to show the audience the local which is Shane Meadows and this promotes social realism because it shows the worn out and fatigued state of the area; it is a wide shot and he also uses continuity editing and match on action.
            The film also follows genric conventions that helps to promote social realism when Romeo is talking to his mother and sister; mother "I gave you 75p for chips and £1.20 for a chicken and mushroom pie". She also says "I wanted curry, but I did not have enough change in my pusre". This helps to present social realism because in a Hollywood film change is non existent and go back a couple of years ago, life was hard for the working class family and they had to really count the pennies to make sure that they did not go broke. When Romeo and his mother were talking it also used the 180 degree rule which is the basic guideline that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same right and left relationship and some close up shots so the audience can unite with the character emotions. I think that using close up shots on the mother is signifcant because many mother's could reflect with Romeo's mother anger because many young people have not done what they have been told to do.
            In a Room for Romeo Brass the director is very successful in creating a very realistic impression of social realsim because on one day two young boys are happily playing with each other and will help to protect each other, but the next day they will not be talking to each other. In the film it uses long and slow paced editing and I think that this is important because back when this was filmed technology was not as advanced as it is today, so by using slow editing it represents the tiresome pace of that time period, also it is easier for the veiwer's to follow. Social realism is also promoted in a Room for Romeo Brass, because of the types of transport, such as old cars and worn down shops and houses. It is also interesting that the majority of the film is filmed outside, yet it is still dark and there is hardly any natural light and the only light that really is apparent, is the artifical or tungsten light coming from a couple of lamps in peoples houses. This could be significant because it is dark and grey nearly all the time and you would generally associate these colours with dull, depression and exhaustion. By using these colours it also represents the characters, feelings and emotions aswell.
            Both diegtic and non diegetic sounds are used throughout the film. The diegtic sounds in the film consist of speech, opening and closing doors, sounds which are made by objects in the film. The non diegtic sounds would be the music that is run over the characters in the film, so sound effects that help to add for the dramatic effect and also it will help the narrative of the film. So in the opening scenes the music is very happy and care free. It is used to highten the mood of the film.