Trailer Review - 50/50

1. Narrative
The film is based on a true story. This comedy drama is about a 27-year-old guy who learns he has cancer and has a 50/50 change of surviving. The story is told from the point of view of Adam Lerner as he struggles to beat the disease. He is the narrator because the audience can better connect with him during his heath depletion. Adam's best friend, Kyle, a spectator, adds humor to the story with his funny personality and ridiculous gimmicks. He sets a light-hearted tone for the movie and helps the protagonist realize that friendship and love is the ultimate healer. Time is presented chronologically-first with Adam learning from his doctor that he has a rare spinal cancer and the sequence of events of him coping with the news. This film is, without a doubt, a realist film because it shows a character's account of struggle against a disease. This is a modern film that reflects the spread of cancer diseases in the United States currently. Doctors across the country tell their patients that they have cancer everyday. It's interesting to watch a film that depicts someone's coping and healing mechanisms after being diagnosed. This film shows how we are in a time period where there is still hope for survival against cancer despite the odds.

2. Cinematography
The cinematographer uses a lot of CUs and long focal lengths to emphasize the inner turmoil the protagonist is enduring because of his cancer. Also, when the protagonist feels hopeless or alone, we always see him in a LS when the lens has a short focal length. When Adam is at the verge of a mental breakdown, the camera is unsteady and bounces to demonstrate the tension in the situation because believes he will not survive his cancer. I typically like the scene when Adam is jogging at the dock because the ocean and docked ships in the background and Adam in the midground create a beautiful depth of field. To me, this scene represented the long journey ahead of Adam in his recovery. His lateral motion also represents his determination to persevere through his disease. Throughout the trailer, the shots were stationary when there was some humor in the scenes, but as the realization of death closes in to Adam, there are more camera movements (dollying) and bouncy shots to show his anxiety.

3. Editing
There is a fair amount of cutting in the trailer and the shots are relatively lengthy. This is to give the film a more dynamic feel and give the actors time to express emotion in their lines. Thus, the audience can react properly to the scenes of the film. The cutting is manipulative in such a way that we feel sympathy for the main character, as the producers expect us to. The shots are straight forward because I could easily interpret the objects, characters, and situations. The rhythm is slow in the beginning of the trailer when the story is being established and the tension escalates, causing the rhythm to pick up. The shots are relatively objective and functional because they serve to emphasize the cancer's impact on many characters besides protagonist. The film artist minimizes cutting because their sole focus is on the emotional content, not the visuals.

4. Sound- Score and FX
The score was originally composed by Michael Giacchino. The music for the film is composed of percussion sounds, piano scores, and songs sung by groups of people. The music creates a melancholy, yet hopeful tone for the movie. There are no distorted sounds because the film is realistic. The drums beating in the background symbolize the devastating effect of discovering one's deadly fate. They accumulate to create a dramatic effect on the viewers as the protagonist faces shock, goes through denial, and then, finally, accepts his situation. There is some silence in the first half of the trailer to create tension and allow the audience to focus more on the facial expressions of the actor.