Favourite Film Review-St Elmo's Fire

My favourite film I have chosen is St. Elmo’s fire. It was made and released in 1985. It was written and directed by Joel Schumacher, and also written by Carl Kurlander. The film is a prominent movie of the ‘Brat Pack’ genre. The term ‘Brat Pack’ was given to a now infamous group of young actors who appeared in many teen-oriented movies in the 1980s – a large proportion of which were directed by John Hughes. The film stars; Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Mare Winningham and Ally Sheedy.  A lot of my favourite films are typical ‘Brat Pack’ films as I find that the plot lines are usually quite loosely structured. I like the idea of a loose plot line, especially in St. Elmo’s fire as I feel the film is more realistic in the setting that is being portrayed. I feel it is easier to develop an emotional attachment to the characters because you see the life that they are living in together, from all points of views of each character within the story. This creates empathy with the characters as you see why they act in the ways that they do in relation to one another.

St. Elmo’s Fire focuses on a group of 7 close friends who have just graduated from Georgetown University. The film centres on their post-university lives and the struggles the individuals have with responsibility and the transition from University to adulthood. The close-knit bunch of friends includes all the stereotypical types of teens of any era. I think that is one of the reasons why it is my favourite film also as it is quite relatable being based around characters only slightly older than myself and it portrays all the concerns that any teen would have transitioning from teen to adulthood.