Reading through the reviews, I was taken back to when I watched it.
For my educational course, watching and reviewing the behaviour of characters in this film is a necessity.
Having not watched the original, I am basing my experience purely by the Stanford university prison experiment.
The link between Travis (Brody) and Barris (Whitaker) struck me as significant, before the experiment had even begun. It was inevitable that they would be pinned against each other, however I had no idea it would elevate to the extent it did.
As mentioned in a previous review by somebody, there were 5 rules to be followed by the prisoners. If these are broken, then the guards must react accordingly within 30 minutes of the incident, or a red light will go off, signalling the end of the experiment. This red light quickly becomes the obsession of Barris, who relies upon this and seems to worship it (A godly reference). Barris plays this role EXTREMELY well in my opinion, pouncing on every occasion there is to uphold these rules that the guards have been given.
The guards are not to use violence, if they do, the experiment will end. As stated once again in the same previous review, the experiment doesn't end when Benjy (Cohn) is killed by a blow to the head. However I thought this reflected very well upon the nature of the Stanford University Prison Experiment, where Zimbardo quickly adapted to the role of a prison warden, overlooking any of the guards gross misconduct. This act was very well done, with very little interference by the leaders of the experiment.
The ending was quite strange and not what I expected at all. I had expected some chaos to be imminent at times, however not on the scale that closed the film. The slow motion during the riots adds to the effect of the defeat of the guards by allowing you to capture their reactions in every frame; fear, anxiety, horror.
Overall I enjoyed this film, partly because of the alienation that the guards felt towards the prisoners after the experiment had been ceased. This film, I felt, reflected exceptionally well on the reality of the experiment, where events got out of hand very quickly - With the people taking on the role of a prisoner or a guard, having their behaviour and thinking shifted perpetually by the perception of their character.
For my educational course, watching and reviewing the behaviour of characters in this film is a necessity.
Having not watched the original, I am basing my experience purely by the Stanford university prison experiment.
The link between Travis (Brody) and Barris (Whitaker) struck me as significant, before the experiment had even begun. It was inevitable that they would be pinned against each other, however I had no idea it would elevate to the extent it did.
As mentioned in a previous review by somebody, there were 5 rules to be followed by the prisoners. If these are broken, then the guards must react accordingly within 30 minutes of the incident, or a red light will go off, signalling the end of the experiment. This red light quickly becomes the obsession of Barris, who relies upon this and seems to worship it (A godly reference). Barris plays this role EXTREMELY well in my opinion, pouncing on every occasion there is to uphold these rules that the guards have been given.
The guards are not to use violence, if they do, the experiment will end. As stated once again in the same previous review, the experiment doesn't end when Benjy (Cohn) is killed by a blow to the head. However I thought this reflected very well upon the nature of the Stanford University Prison Experiment, where Zimbardo quickly adapted to the role of a prison warden, overlooking any of the guards gross misconduct. This act was very well done, with very little interference by the leaders of the experiment.
The ending was quite strange and not what I expected at all. I had expected some chaos to be imminent at times, however not on the scale that closed the film. The slow motion during the riots adds to the effect of the defeat of the guards by allowing you to capture their reactions in every frame; fear, anxiety, horror.
Overall I enjoyed this film, partly because of the alienation that the guards felt towards the prisoners after the experiment had been ceased. This film, I felt, reflected exceptionally well on the reality of the experiment, where events got out of hand very quickly - With the people taking on the role of a prisoner or a guard, having their behaviour and thinking shifted perpetually by the perception of their character.