Megan's four film analysis

film analysis

21 Grams

We open the film to a guy smoking in bed sitting on a bed next to a nude woman. It is then cut to a man in a restaurant with his two children which seems to have no connection yet to the audience in how these two scenes are related. The lighting, music and the way the scene is all laid out suggest that this is set in an earlier time. 

When the camera is next cut we have one continuous shot with no angle changes of a woman seeming to be in a discussion group of somewhat however the way the camera is placed restricts us from seeing the rest of the room and who she is talking too. The lighting seems to be directed at her so she is what the audiences eyes are drawn too.  She is talking about her husband and children who the audience can relate too from the last scene but we don't know if this is a present, past or future scene and if the scenes are even in the right order. 

This scene is set in a room with old furniture which is crooked and seems to be very small and dingy room which from the audiences perspective which seems like some sort of prison. The cross on the wall  is framed in the middle of a couple of the shots to make it stand out. From the spectators position the guy on the right seems to be some type of villain or an enemy from the first time we see him because of the way he acts, his tone of voice and having tattoos on his arms makes him seem like he's done wrong in the past without us needing to be told. The way he stands over the guy in the hat and is shown from a low angle makes us think that he is much more superior and has more power than the other guy who seems younger and weaker and doesn't say much. 

The butterfly effect:

The film begins with a short quote that describes chaos theory: ‘It has been said that something so small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world’. This is unusual and breaks convention as most thrillers don’t begin with a quote. The opening music is still typical of that of a thriller with the string instruments mainly giving it a very gloomy atmosphere, it sounds discordant, foreboding and dark. We are thrown into the movie straight away into an eerie room of darkness which could be used as iconography to show us the genre of the movie is a thriller. The camera seems to follow who we think is the protagonist in the film relentlessly as a tracking shot with only a couple of cuts. A high angle is used to show he is powerless as he is crouched in a position that makes him seem weak. As he starts writing what seems to the audience at the beginning as a random diary entry there is a quick cut to a close up of the windows with torches shining through the glass and we can hear the security shouting making us think that he is a threat as he is also dressed in some sort of hospital gown.

There are constant close ups of the diary indicating that is has some significance to the movie but we don't know what yet. There is an extreme close up of his hands writing the words 'save her' but then the paper rips apart into small pieces which transform into butterflies in the darkness. This links back to the quote at the beginning. 

Final Destination 3

The opening couple of minutes is centered around the credits of the film around a theme park where the film begins to take place. The music is low and gloomy giving a thriller sense straight away. The rides are outlined clearly but surrounded by pitch black which is iconography for the film. As well as this, iconography is used in the way the theme park is presented with the rides outlined in deep red suggesting blood and death. The camera is at a very low angle making us feel intimidated by the rides and we can hear screaming from people on the ride however restricted narration is used so we cannot see people on the ride and we are restricted to seeing just one section of it.




There is a ticking noise surrounding the fortune teller and her cards to symbolize this is a movie surrounded by fate and time is running out however we are left guessing as to what will happen which is enigma. The way the theme park is presented it is shown as somewhere that would be used as a Halloween attraction rather than somewhere people would go for fun.

Shutter Island

The screen starts of grey with the sound of rain coming down hard as a boat comes in to view, the weather causes pathetic fallacy right from the start. It is then cut to a shot over a man's shoulder of him looking in the mirror shaking and talking to himself with his figure seeming very dark and we can sense he is very distressed about something. He seems to be an upper class man wearing a boulder hat and a suit. The film seems to be set in an older time from their outfits and the way they speak to each other. Background music is on continuously as the two men talk but very quietly so we only just hear it. 

It is then cut to a flashback so it is a quick transition and we are able to look into the man's past so we can get to know his character better. We are cut to waves crashing against each other before the man saying 'she died' which is enigma as we want to find out how she died as it must have something to do with the plot twist.  

The waves and the sky seem darkened which could be described as iconography as well as the destaturated colour of the shot making it seem as if suspense is building up.