ABSTRACT

This chapter interrogates the fantasized presence of animated visual effects in a film that otherwise constitutes a drama within the established tradition of British social-realist cinema. Electricity is an adaptation from a 2006 novel of the same name by the British author Ray Robinson, directed by Bryn Higgins and produced by Soda Pictures with BFI funding. The chapter examines how the visual effects render the fantastical images presented on-screen, providing an analysis of the meaning and intent behind visually striking set pieces employed at various moments throughout the film. It focuses on how this "inventive and interesting" approach not only differs from more typical British "realist" aesthetics but also how the film can be distinguished from the spectacle-laden fare more readily associated with mainstream fantasy cinema. The metaphorical associations with the Alice in Wonderland story correspond with the film's shift into the fantastic.