Budget Cinema

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2005)

If you've ever wanted to write a screenplay, "Saw" is a good film to study, because of its financial profile. The film was made on a budget of about $1 million, super cheap in today's feature film market. Producers are more apt to take a new screenwriter's work seriously, if the writer can write a script that, when produced, doesn't break the bank.
Despite the cheap production costs of "Saw", it earned over $100 million, worldwide, resulting in a huge ROI, to the delight, I am sure, of the film's financial backers. Cost was kept low as a result of, among other things: single location shooting, an eighteen day completion schedule, and minimal speaking roles. Even with these restrictions, the film still managed to include some elements that normally would be expensive, such as: gunfire, stunts, and a child actor.
Of course, the film's popularity, as expressed in its revenue, does not necessarily equate to film quality. Indeed, I would argue that, relative to the quality of other modern films, "Saw" is no better than average, and well below average when compared to older, classic films. The original concept of "Saw" is intriguing. And the film does provide some fairly good tension, especially at the beginning. But, beyond the concept, the plot unravels into a mass of laughable predicaments and character reactions.
My biggest complaint is the script. The plot is hopelessly illogical. Characters say and do things that make sense only in the context of a screenwriter trying to maximize screenplay conflict. There's a complete disconnect from reality. Further, the film's main characters are not well defined. It's hard to care about them, if we don't know much about them. Finally, from the use of flashbacks, to dialogue, to acting, to production design and costumes, the film has an amateurish quality to it. You get the feeling it was put together by kids just out of film school.
In summary, this film is useful to new screenwriters, as a tool to gauge those elements that can be included in a story, at a bargain-basement cost. The flip side is that while you may be able to produce a profitable film, there's no guarantee that it will have qualitative merit.