How to write a perfect movie essay: 6 main points to include

Everyone likes watching movies, even if they are part of homework. Few, however, want to write reviews and essays on these movies. This is particularly challenging for students studying foreign languages and those who need not only to watch a movie in a foreign language but also to write an essay. That’s why many people often google “help me with my essay by native writers” to get a good grade. We will tell you how to enjoy a movie and not mess up your mood by writing an essay. Let’s read How to write a perfect movie essay and 6 main points to include in detail below.

Table of Contents

Where to start?

As a rule, teachers offer their students a film to watch and analyze. If you have to choose a piece yourself, think about the movie that made the biggest impression on you or choose any feature film that you think is one of the iconic ones in cinematic history.

Before you start watching the film, you should do a little research and read the history of its creation, information about the director and other key players responsible for its production. You will also need to prepare a small questionnaire that you will fill out as you watch the film. It should include such aspects as the director’s work, musical accompaniment, special effects, stylistic devices, major plot lines, the work of makeup artists and stylists, the work of the actors, etc. Often, teachers themselves offer students similar questionnaires with issues that interest them.

Surprisingly, many students skip watching a movie if they have already seen it. This is a huge mistake that can cost you a good grade. Even if you have seen Forrest Gump ten times, you should still review it carefully and thoughtfully, taking into account all the aspects you need to analyze in your essay.

Six main points to include in your movie essay

Film title and synopsis

First of all, you need to introduce the movie you are going to analyze to your readers and specify its title, release year, genre, director, country of production, and two or three key actors. You should briefly describe the film’s plot, its main characters, and the film’s key topic, which can also become the thesis statement of your essay.

Characteristics of the film

Specify the genre identity of the film. Describe a brief plot pattern that indicates that the film belongs to that genre. The film may belong to more than one genre. Try to describe the audience for which this film is intended and mention how the critics and viewers reacted to it when released. Find out the history of this movie and tell if it has any predecessors that influenced the creation of this story. Perhaps this film has instead inspired creative people, and remakes of it have already been made or are planned? Consider whether this film can be categorized in any stylistic direction.

Problematics of the film

Highlight the central idea of the film and analyze the problems it poses. A work may have more than one key problem. Consider what you think the filmmakers’ mission was and how did they accomplish it? Were they able to convey their message to the audience? Does the film make you reflect, and what does it make you think about?

Analysis of cinematic devices

Describe the full range of cinematic devices. How does the camera work? How does it move? Describe the angles, plan system, and mise-en-scene. What is the rhythm of the film? Tell about the compositional construction and cinematic techniques. Pay attention to space and time. What editing techniques are used in the film? Do the special effects distract from perceiving the main idea of the film? Are they of high quality?

The musical accompaniment of the film plays an important role in the perception and immersion into the atmosphere. Pay attention to whether the music helps you absorb the emotions and experiences or, on the contrary, distracts you. The particular use of color also has an effect on the perception of the film. You can easily observe it, for example, in the Harry Potter series, where the colors are warmer and cozier in the first films, but the tones get darker and colder towards the last parts. Also, note the movie props. Evaluate the work of the makeup artists and costume designers and how the interiors and sets as a whole fit the whole picture.

Key scenes

Select and describe 4-5 scenes in the film that seem to be crucial. Describe them in detail: what happens on the screen, how it is filmed. Refer to the questions in the previous section. You can even accompany each scene with screenshots from the film to illustrate your description, if possible. Pay special attention to and analyze the visual style of the film.

Conclusions

Explain your choice of why this particular film is important and iconic for cinematic history. What is interesting and original about this film? Summarize your analysis.

The structure of an essay about a film

An academic film review text is not any different from any other type of essay. It also consists of an introduction, the main part, and conclusions. However, you can experiment and improvise with the structure to make your review more intriguing.

Let’s break down the classic structure of a movie essay.

Introduction

In this part, you should present all the main data about the film and introduce the reader to the story. Briefly describe the main idea and problem of the film without going into details. Don’t forget to add to your introduction a catchy and intriguing thesis statement that will interest your audience.

The main body of the story

This part of your essay is your analysis of the movie, where you answer all those questions we described earlier in the article. Your paragraphs and sentences must be logically connected, not mixed into one big lump of confusing and unreadable analysis.

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Conclusion

This is the paragraph for your summary, where you rephrase your thesis and prove your opinion without presenting new ideas. Sometimes, your paper may include extras (screenshots, video excerpts) that are important for complete film analysis. You can discuss these details with your teacher. After reading this you doubts regarding How to write a perfect movie essay is cleared and now you are ready to go. If you have any doubts,queries or suggestion then Do comment below.