Slap (Dir. Nick Rowland)

 Slap 

Thematic Summary:

A young man who boxes finds comfort in crossdressing but hides this part of himself due to the stigma around the subject. The film investigates the reality of his two contrasting worlds colliding. 

Act I: 

Connor is first seen in-front of a mirror (a recurring part of the film to represent duality) applying makeup it becomes clear that he is not comfortable sharing this part of himself with his close friends and family as he hastily hides his face as his father enters the room.

Act II:

Act two begins with Connor dressing up and applying makeup in his room followed by a sequence of him dancing/boxing whilst looking down the camera. Portraying the duality of his character that he himself recognises and hinting at his attempts to accept and be comfortable in his style of masculinity. 

He fights two boys chasing his friend who is being beaten up for being homosexual and ultimately unwillingly exposes himself in a dress and makeup to his friend, who at first is accepting. 

Act II continued: 

Act two continues with Connor deciding to go to a birthday party with a theme of fancy dress in his dress and makeup. Throughout this entire act his isolation is emphasised, via the use of negative space. When he arrives he has a couple interactions with people at the party before ending up in the bathroom with his friend. His friend and him share a heartfelt moment of openness and honesty which then prompts Connor's friend to try and kiss him, Connor rejects this advance resulting in Connor's friend telling Connor's girlfriend his secret resulting in a huge argument

Act III:

Act three is extremely short and depicts Connor back in the boxing gym beating up his opponent violently. Suggesting possibly that the argument/action in Act two has forced him to entirely reject the side of his masculinity represented by the makeup and the his more archetypal masculine side represented by the his boxing, eventually wins.