Film Breakdowns - Sin City (2005)

Film Breakdowns - Sin City (2005)
 
To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

Sin City is an absolute gem of a film. It is a comic book/graphic novel styled film noir inspired crime film and a cop sent away for doing his job, a man on the warpath to avenge the death of the perfect woman and a man fighting police corruption with armed and dangerous prostitutes.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

The opening scene of this most excellent film shows you what kind of film you are going to be watching. The red selective colour hits us right away. The colour red, symbolising blood, anger, love and passion. She is a femme fatal. We know it, she knows it and even though her screen time was short, we can't take our eyes off of her.

The slating in this shot is very nice. It looks right out of a graphic novel or a comic book. The little girl bathed in light, contrasts perfectly with the silhouette of the big bad child abuser standing in the doorway. We could turn the sound off and know exactly what we are seeing.

The cop played by the mighty Bruce Willis as he hunts down the child abuser. The light shining from behind, the low angle and the body position. You couldn't get a more symbolic frame of power and strength unless you watch 300. He is the dark knight, the light in the darkness. He is the symbol of what is capable even in the darkest of places.

Other characters can be in colour partially but none as much or as vibrantly than Goldie. Her hair is golden, the colour of the sun. A beacon for hope in the life of this criminal hard man. Gold, the colour of many divine images and her red bed, the colour of love and passion in particular. He is a symbol for a piece of himself and it soon will die to catalyse this maniac.

The big looming man over the woman, kneeling on the floor as the balance between police and hookers is starting to waiver. She is trapped in this situation, making a life the only way she knows how and is doing the best she can. The man stands for oppression and more so I think, the oppression of authority and government over the less fortunate.

The more childish hooker than the rest. She perhaps stands for the innocence that exists in people, the part of ourselves that would rather take a deal or sell out to save ourselves. The version of us that isn't bound by honour. Her blue eyes are a way for us to see that she isn't evil or cynical, she's just doing the right thing for her.

The two have killed and killed together for the sake of keeping the police out of their town and keeping the girls safe. They have killed their previous selves, they have died and been reborn and baptised in blood. The red background might be a red sky, or just a background. Either way, we know who they now are and what they are willing to do.

One of our heroes, the one who in the entire film deserves the least to be in prison, is in captivity. This frame doesn't just show any old jail cell. There is nothing outside the cell, literally nothing. The only existence is inside the cage. The cage extends up as high as the camera. He is alone beyond belief. He has two options, rot in there forever or admit to a crime he didn't commit. 

I think everyone's seen this film and if they hadn't, well I imagine that rock must have been comfortable. It is one of those soon to be classic films that will live for years and years. It revolutionised how we thought about colour in my opinion. It will stand as a benchmark in film creativity for a long time to come I think.

Film Breakdowns - Brick (2005)

Film Breakdowns - Brick (2005)
 
To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

Brick is the story of a young man going about his business outside of high school to solve the murder of his ex girlfriend but ends up being caught up in the cities drug circulation.

Fantastic acting from Joseph Gordon-Levitt as he fights his way to the truth.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

This is one of the first shots we see of the film and it is one of those shots that is just so perfect that it says more than a thousand words. The tunnel of despair and darkness, the inner most cave of death has spat her out. She was close to entering but didn't make it. Now he is sitting in the entrance, about to make a leap into the blackness to see why.

A friend in this mist of enemies? She's wearing red, the colour of passion, love, anger and blood. She is framed next to a fire. Does she look like a friend? She looks like the devil to me. She will betray our hero but he is too smart for that and manages to escape before she can. It sets up up nicely.

He is sitting at the end of his journey, the end of his relationship with the dead girl and this is shown by his sitting at the end of a wall. A long road stands before him and he has to make the decision to travel down the unknown path into a new beginning and new journey.

The girl in the frame is represented not necessarily how she actually was but how he remembers her. This isn't a simple flash back, it is how he remembers it. It is hit point of view we are watching and here she has the sun behind her and an endless field. Almost as if she's and angel, representing light, warmth and endless possibilities.

The king-pin. The big drug runner who he has been searching for this whole time. Let's examine his room. It's very brown/golden, the colour of many things majestic and magnificent. He is sitting next to an eagle, the symbol for freedom. This tells us a lot about him from his lust for freedom, his high profile statue and his power and authority.

The king-pin here is sitting on the beach, watching the sun go down as the night turns to twilight. He is symbolic for his love for freedom in his own right. He is staring at the horizon, he is dreaming for a world where things would be better. Why is our hero not sitting with him? He doesn't share that same idea of a future would be my first guess.

One of the main antagonistic figures of the film but soon becoming a sort of half ally of the hero is seen sitting on the floor, thinking about the world around him. He is trapped in his own internal conflicts. The door is squeezing the frame and him. It's a very claustrophobic shot and reflects his state of mind well.

Our angelic ally character shape-shifter who has provided information has had her illusion blown wide open. The angel persona she has been trying to impose onto herself has backfired and the fake reality she tried to pass off has shattered. The broken mirror is a symbol for this breaking of the fake reality. She has been exposed and her mask broken, showing who she really is. 

Brick is one of those films that you probably haven't heard of but it definitely should be. It's such a cool movie and even though you can tell that they had a tiny budget to film this, they made every penny count.  They had a good cast, a great writer, a great director and a great cinematographer as well as a great production designer. It shows what you can do with a great vision and the means to make it happen.

Film Breakdowns - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Film Breakdowns - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

This film is one of those movies which just stands out in how well it is photographed and how rich the character is we see the film through. A simple man played by a great actor who experiences the human condition with precision.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

We start off this fine film seeing the normal everyday life of the man we will follow through the film. We see his wife through this doorway in a sexy dress. Environment cages almost always mean they are hiding or hiding from something or someone. Combine that with the dress? A wife who is either emasculating or having an affair.

The lighting and colours in this shot are quite reflective of the characters state of mind in the film in the early beginning. He feels in a stagnant life, it's very ordinary and monotone as is the white and bland lighting in this environment. The wide lens on his head is quite nice too, it shows a kind of focus, which when it's something as boring as a head shows you his life.

This shot is absolutely wonderful because not only is the subject of the conversation something difficult and somewhat dark (the man on the right is being blackmailed by the man on the left but doesn't know it), but both men are in the dark about something. He is in the dark about his blackmailer and the protagonist is in the dark about their fates soon to come.

In our protagonists world, everything is dark. He has blackmailed a good man for money, his wife is cheating on him and he has a dead end job and nothing in his life which he seems to enjoy. All of a sudden he hears a piano. This girl playing in the darkness is literally the only light in his world.

In bed, he is contemplating the past events of the film. He has done bad things, very bad things and his world is getting more and more dark as time goes on. There is one light something in the window and even that is casting a cage onto him. He hasn't really left himself any options to get out now, all he can do is the best he can to get out alive.

The secret has come out. He killed him. She is innocent. He it framed within the columns of the wall behind him. That alone seems to b-line out attention to him. He seems singled out in this frame even though his wife is sitting with him. He blends in with the background in a way too with his grey shirt.


 He is in prison and awaiting his death by execution for the death of the man he tried to blackmail. Literally behind a cage now he has pretty much nothing left. He has no wife to go home to, no money, no job and no friends. Everything which meant he had nothing has been taken away, he has less than nothing now. He is a husk of a man.

He is within himself in his final moments. His execution is close but in his final few moment he gets hit by this white blinding light. In a moment of euphoria, he has had a realisation about what's happened. He will not live nor will he have his life back but he has come to terms with things, he sees things for what they were and he accepts death with open arms.

Another Coen brothers film that delivers completely.  It is fantastic visually and all of the glum colours of the entire film reflect nicely the way in which the protagonist sees the surroundings in front of him. I would watch the film again easily, it's a good piece of cinema. The main character is a difficult one to fully understand as he seems to want to be passive, in fact his personality is passive but he is active in the story in what he does. It's hard to find what he values or what he likes if anything. He's a difficult personality to pin down and that perhaps is his appeal.

Film Breakdowns - Snatch (2000)

Film Breakdowns - Snatch (2000)
 
To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

Snatch is the amazingly funny and surreal story of American and Russian mobsters, English mobsters, robbers, fight fixers and a Jewish jeweller trying to get their hands on a priceless stolen diamond while two men find a Pikey boxer to fight for them in a coming fight.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

The first time that we see our main character (or one of them) we see him behind this giant moon like head. Who is it? Someone more dangerous than them for sure. Why don't we see them? Well it could be like in Pulp Fiction, he's too important. Or it could be that we'll see him later and not know it.

A real tribute to film noir in my opinion even though it isn't one, Snatch does a fantastic thing of modernising the conversation through a mirror shot seen in pretty much every film noir. It's very subtle and I didn't even see it the first time I saw the film. A lovely touch none the less.

I absolutely love this shot it's so eye appealing. I like the use of the wide angle lens because it distorts the face of the man who has had it world turned upside down and distorted by Boris and secondly, it shows the end of the gun being stretched and elongated. It looks so cinematic, it's a gorgeous shot.

Mickey is the fighter on the left and he was supposed to throw the fight so that Brick Top (second from right) and his clients can get a pay out from the bookies. He instead knocked the man flat out and now his world is being turned around. It looks like a typical parents talking to the naughty child scenario. He has angered the villain and sooner or later, he will pay.

Who is this walking up to the shop? Why do we not see him? Have we seen him before? Probably knowing this film as everyone gets their introductions quite early. We don't see who this is because 1) this shot is dramatic 2) we have seen him before and him in particular being here means a coming s**t storm and 3) it makes us ask questions.

Mickey has paid the price for not throwing the fight and Brick Top has torched his caravan with him mother inside. I like the use of silhouettes here as it's almost like they're saying he is now devoid of a heart, his mother dying has left him hollow and full of darkness. The flames are not only his inner rage, but they represent his arrogance and his destructive nature.

Who is it at the door of the car? A silhouette of this kind usually means a gun is going to be put into your face (Which it will be). It also gives the impression of the personification of death walking up to the door, the reaper himself as he glides over the soon to depart dead men. It doesn't matter that we don't see who it is because we know what's about to happen.

Here we see that Brick Top has lost his hold of power at this point and is most likely in a very dark place in himself. He is not the kind of person to behave nicely towards others but here we get a sense of darkness, hate, anger and total blackness. His lack of knowledge of what's really happening is also pretty new to him. 

Snatch is one of those films where the plot might not be the center of attention but the characters sure are. It has such fantastically funny and great characters that say and do such bizarre and funny things that it makes us want to watch them again and again. It has one of the most famous or well known speeches in the film which I think pretty much every film lover knows, and that is the pig speech by Brick Top. I will leave it underneath and finish with if you haven't seen this film, do it NOW!

Film Breakdowns - Se7en (1995)

Film Breakdowns - Se7en (1995)
 
To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

Se7en is one of those films you look at  in awe because of the gorgeous cinematography and think about for days after from the compelling story. A serial killer kills off people according to their sin, leaving a message at each murder scene, the veteran and new detective must catch the mad man before all seven victims are killed.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

One of the first thing we see in this film is a metronome. We find it is in the room of the older detective. It shows us so much about this film it's hard to contain in this little paragraph. His life is repetitive, the same day in day out like a metronome. The film is about a running out of time, a kind of ticking clock incident will occur.

Here our new detective face come face to face with the start of a series of brutal and horrific killings and I sense he feels out of place and in over his head. Not only this but the killer is sending a message and the detective is apart of that message, they are apart of the plan and are unwittingly playing along. They are apart of this scene now.

As the older detective goes over to the younger detective's house for dinner, they are framed in this dark doorway. It gives a deep sense of foreboding as if you've seen the ending or know of it, they will all end up worse off and destroyed by the sins of the killer.

As the case seems all the more unsolvable he is seen framed in this long corridor. The lines and symmetry in the corridor combined with the moodiness make for a very dark and gritty shot. To me it says: Isolation, a long journey ahead, playing by the rules, the unknown, walking in the dark and a lack of knowing what will happen next.

Who is this walking into the police building? Why do we only see his waist down and from behind? Well firstly, we aren't supposed to see him because there will be a big reveal and the audience asking those questions is exactly what the director wanted and also, this long angle and framing is something we don't usually see, it shows a sort of reality distortion.

The killer has finally presented himself and has literally shown himself. He is the central villain in the film with a sort of biblical complex so the light filtering through on the right work well with his hand position in that of perhaps Jesus Christ or some other biblical figure. He suffocates the frame with his presence, he overpowers everything.

The sun directly behind his head in this scene when he has played his final play of the film, the delivery of the young detective wife's head in a box. This shot is how he sees himself, as a sort of fallen angel almost in his portrayal as a divine being, the embodiment of jealousy. He is dark (mainly because of exposure differences) but it works to show his inner darkness.

They are out in the bright sunlight yet the detective in emotional turmoil at the news of his wife's head in a box darkens his heart. The killer wants him to become wrath and shoot him to complete the seven deadly sins. We don't care about his wife, all we care about is his decision. Will he kill him and do what he wants? Will he let him go? Don't do it!

Se7en is an amazing film and is truly original. The cinematography is breath-taking and the story is incredible. It is an absolute must watch in terms of any movie discipline minus special effects or visual effects because of how well it is filmed. Do I even have to mention the most quotable line from the film at the very end? "What's in the box?! What's in the box?!".

Film Breakdowns - Pulp Fiction (1994)

Film Breakdowns - Pulp Fiction (1994)
 

 To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

Pulp Fiction is possibly Quintin Tarantino's most famous movie alongside Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs and Django. It's the story of two hit men, a crime boss, his girlfriend and a boxer as their unfortunate stories cross paths, told through a narrative that skips backwards and forwards through time.

Let's begin breaking down my favourite frames from the film that encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story. 

Let's get started!

One of the first things we see is this lovely shot of Vince and Jules opening the trunk of their car. This kind of angle is very similar to that of a dead body POV where killers or detectives will stand over a dead body. Automatically from this shot I think the following scene is going to involve a dead body and their casualness sums up their characters well.

Here after a lengthy and very casual conversation the two men arrive at the door where they are about to raise hell. This framing combined with their conversation about foot rubs is just so perfect because we already know without having been told, that these guys are hit men. Death is just a day at work for them.

Here we see the boxer for the first time. He is being told what to do by Mr Wallace, the big crime boss. We don't see Mr Wallace as him not showing his face is like a display of supreme authority. He's too important to be seen just yet. The background is made of a lot of straight lines which fits nicely with the boxer having to stay inside the lines as it were.

Here the hit man Vince is talking to himself and is framed reflected in the mirror. This is showing his internal conflict at the choices in front of him: Be professional and respectful and say goodbye to Mr Wallas' girlfriend or fall for her temptation and suffer death by her enraged boyfriend. His ambiguity is shown wonderfully.

Here we see the boxer come back to his flat to get his fathers watch because his girlfriend has left it behind by mistake. He has double crossed Mr Wallace and taken his money and now he is a dead man walking in this town. This environment cage is also the threshold gate to his greater ordeal.

Mr Wallace has been bound and is being raped by Z, the  corrupt policeman who seems to enjoy raping people in a basement guarded by a gimp on a chain. We don't see much of anything, and that's good. Not because I'm homophobic, but because it leaves his suffering to the imagination and also, because it shows that the boxer is also letting his imagination run wild.

Mr Wolf has come to the rescue to clean up the hit men's bloody car. They have stopped off at the character played by Tarantino's house and he has his own problem. His wife is coming home and he is F****ed if she sees a bloody car and two hit men in her house. He is singled off from his own comfortable reality he has in his happy home and it shows with the good framing.

The two hit men are tidying up the bloody car but the subject is very different. The two men are divided by two major issues. Vince has rejected the divine intervention they experienced while Jules embraced it and secondly, because Vince has a bad habit of disrespecting other people while Jules doesn't. They are literally divided by the car chassis.

Not Tarantino's first film and not his last but arguably his best. Personally, I love it to pieces as it deals with a bunch of interesting subjects: Divine intervention, respect, loyalty, betrayal and a whole host of other great subjects. Coudn't reccommend this movie more. If after watching this you don't look at a burger and think, "royale with cheese", then you're a sick man and need help. With one of the most quotable scenes ever, "say what again, I dare you, I double dare you mother F***er!" This film has the coolest characters doing the coolest stuff and the story is great and presented fantastically. What more do you need?