The Devil Wears Prada Directed by David Frankel

The Devil Wears Prada Directed by David Frankel 2006 Plot Setting/Context Characterisation Genre: Discovery Issues Cinematography Techniques

Plot (Storyline) The Devil Wears Prada is a humorous film about a young New Yorker, Andrea. She takes a job at Runway Fashion Magazine and gets swept away in the world of fashion. In the process of building her professional reputation, she loses track of her true identity as well as the people close to her. By the end of the film, Andy takes a check of reality and remembers what is truly important in life and claims it back.

Setting/Context The film is set in the contemporary world of the hustle and bustle city, New York is a city that never sleeps and is the perfect setting for this story because Andy’s job carries the responsibility of being available 24/7. New York carries the belief that success is based on how good you look. This is shallow and judgemental and Andy takes on these characteristics while in her NY job. When Andy realises how possessed with success she has become, she quits her job and also considers moving to Boston. This is a symbol that she no longer respects the ‘successful’ NY lifestyle.

Characterisation Andy Female- mid twenties Lives in New York with long term boyfriend Journalist Starts off as a person – relaxed, individual, had integrity, loving, good morals (knew right from wrong), self pride, gave everyone a fair go – did not base her opinion on their reputation After working at Runway she became – shallow, obsessed with external appearance, forgot things that were important, let her integrity slip. These changes are revealed through the dialogue of her best friend, ‘Glamourzon. . . I don’t get her’ and her boyfriend, ‘You used to make fun of the Runway girls. . . we can stop pretending we still have something in common. We see these changes through Andy’s costume, dialogue and actions. Her clothing changes from ‘drab’ to ‘fab’. Her dialogue becomes less caring and friendly to more professional and sophisticated which does not suit her friendship circles. Her actions change as she becomes more obsessed with NY success and ignores her father for the evening while they are out. Instead, she spends the entire time on the phone trying to achieve the impossible for Miranda.

Genre: Discovery Andy makes personal discoveries about herself in this film. She discovers that professional success is not worth losing your identity. Andy temporarily lost sight of who she was and what she valued in life. She reclaimed her integrity when Miranda purposely hurt the people closest to her and told Andy that if she was going to stay in the profession she would also have to do similar things. Andy realised she could never be selfish in this way and had more respect for her colleagues. Andy quitting her job and walking away from Miranda was a symbol of Andy embracing her beliefs and morals again: changing back to the ‘real’ her.

Issues Integrity – Individuals should hold on to their integrity because it ensures they have a true understanding of who they are on the inside. Pretending to be someone you are not means you are lying to yourself and will not result in personal happiness. You must be comfortable with your actions to feel content and live without regret. Andy missed her boyfriends birthday because of her decisions relating to work. At first she thought she was sorry about this. We learnt she was really sorry at the end of the film when she made a heartfelt apology to her ex-boyfriend even if they didn’t get back together. Price of success – This film reveals that to achieve ‘real success’ in the NY hustle and bustle lifestyle you pay a personal price and so do the people around you. Miranda’s children had an uncaring mother, her husband asked for a divorce because he was tired of being in 2 nd place to her job and success.

Cinematography Techniques CUTS – The opening sequences uses multiple cuts to create a quick succession of fashion shots. This symbolises the fast paced, ‘perfect’ life style of fashionisters of NY. Establishing shot is used to show that the setting is in New York. This is shown through popular landmarks including the Manhattan Bridge. Low angle shot from the busy NY street looking up at Fashion magazine headquarters ‘Runway’ tells the audience that Runway is important to the story line and it is also a superior object in the storyline. We realise this when Runway is responsible for the changes in Andy. Close up and Extreme close up shots are used to highlight different aspects of fashion required to create a flawless and perfect look. It is a facade of perfection and does not take the real ‘inside ‘ person into account. Mid shots of characters and their actions are taken to show what is important to each of the characters in the opening scene. This is where we realise Andy is not fashion conscience. She is shown reading newspaper articles highlighting that journalism is important to her. This is the passion that Andy loses track of through the film. She regains this ‘true passion’ at the conclusion of the film.