Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Scene Analysis

This particular scene from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is most comical in the way that the crime is carried out by a supposed ' small time gang'.

The scene opens with the contrapuntal sound of a guitar playing alongside the deigetic sound of the telephone. The use of the cut progresses the scene into a low angle shot of the gang walking into a warehouse. By using this shot, the audience are seemingly subservient to the dominant gangsters. The cut signifies a group of men inside a three wheeled van, which is iconic of British gangsters and also reflects the stereotype of working class British people. Whats more, the dialogue and cockney dialect of the characters is from North London, which is stereotypical of British gangsters.

The binary opposition of the British men in the van in contrast to the black gangsters connotes how the two groups are different in terms of their ways of crime, as the gang is instructed in a close medium shot, by their leader to do a 'clean job'. Also, the facial expressions of the British men in the van are more relaxed in contrast to the black gangsters, as they are more serious and sinister as signified in a close up shot of the gang leader. The use of low key lighting in the van connotes sincerity , as the black gangsters are ready to kill. The most funniest line in the scene is when the leader, Rory Breaker (Vas Blackwood) says " "they've got a bit of an arsenal and they don't mind using it." The sense of irony is used by Breaker as he knows he and his gang are in for a long night, as he knows they are bound to get injured.

Interestingly, the parallel sound of the guitar beat gradually increases, which connotes how the action is about to begin and climatic events are about to unfold. The music seemingly stops as the black gang enter the house. The close up shots of the gang members faces connote vigilance as they are looking threateningly around the room. Though they are seemingly surprised as the gun shots go off unexpectedly and comically, as signified in a low angle shot of the man underneath the furniture.