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City of God - lesson learn (Herrera Ullah)

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City of God - lesson learn (Herrera Ullah)

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In this scene from ‘The city of god’ Lil Ze and his gang go to confront and punish the group known as the little runts a collective of extremely poor young boys who steal and hold up stores for food and money.  A birds-eye views is used to track Lil Ze’s gang walking through the city towards the little runts, the same camera shot is used later in the scene when we see the little runts scattering in alternative directions. The birds eye view allows the display of the city in all its glory even during a tense scene. It explores how the city of brazil and the favela’s are beautiful but corrupted by the gangs and violence due to poverty.

The little runts are sat around a shack in a seating position that reflects an identity of a gang. Moreover, we see the boys are holding tools but as weapons such as screw drivers as they want to appear dangerous. City of god is set from the 1960’s through to the 1980’s, this scene is set during the 1970-80’s where there is numerous gangs and petty criminals within the Favela’s, the little runts present how children are influenced by this lifestyle from an early age as their group is not identified as a friendship group but a gang. However, gangs are separated by power. When Lil Ze’s gang are confronting the Little Runts the close ups on the contrasting costumes exposes this power difference, Lil Ze and his gang wear bright colours and chains reflecting his gangs superiority juxtaposed to Little runts who are dressed in tight and torn clothes emphasizing the deprivation experienced unless you can obtain power within the favela’s.  Furthermore, any shot of the runts is displayed through low angles which signifies their weakness and inferiority to Lil Ze and his gang, these low angles expressing weakness reminds the audience behind the curtains the little runts are still innocent children.

Two kids become caught and cornered by Lil Ze as he offers an ultimatum either be shot I the hand or foot as a punishment. A close up shot of Lil Ze is used whilst he offers the choice, emphasises his words to show the audience how he has become the shot caller of the streets revealing the severity of the predicament the kids have found themselves in as the favela’s have a hierarchy within them. There is an over the shoulder shot of both children with the gun aimed at them this contributes to making as a by-stander within the movie as we feel a sense of helplessness as we are unable to defend the children. Despite asking to be shot in the hand Lil Ze shoots both in the foot inferring the inequality within the situation and how these children are trapped in endless cycle of being shunned and let down by society.

Lil Ze turns to Steak n Fries to decide and murder one of the children this would be his initiation into the gang.  There is a POV shot from Steak n Fries to show the children crying in agony and fear while holding the gun anxiously a diegetic sound of the children crying can be heard in the background. The juxtaposition of the only two diegetic sounds heard; the children crying and him being encouraged to shoot one them shows the devastating reality of this life creating an emotional response from the audience. The behind the shoulder shot when Steak n Fries is deliberating to a panning shot where Steak n fries turns the gun to other child followed by a close shot of him closing his eyes displays his unwillingness and child innocence as he has been forced into this situation by society but clearly regrets its.  The scene ends as Lil Ze says ‘your one of us now’ showing his initiation was successful, the lingering shot of Steak n Fries with an out of focus dead child behind him relates to the severity of the situation but it is established to the audience this was Steak n Fries inevitable future as he cannot turn back now.

Steak n Fries is a small character, but this scene is one of the most important in the movie as Steak n Fries is the representation of the inevitable future most young boys born in the favela will experience. The scene is exposure of how society fails young boys as they become trapped by a cycle of gangs and violence.

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City of God | 'Lesson Learned' (HD) | 2002

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The second nightclub scene in Victoria is a key moment of the film, it indicates a bridge of ecstatic calm after and before the two most intense scenes in the film. It is the epitome of community and forms the embodiment of Victoria’s desire. The scene is a reflection of relief and celebration. It also follows a cyclical structure, as the group return to the place they first met. The sequence acts like a moment of serenity, the calm before the storm.

In Sebastian Shippers portrayal of a bank robbery, the single shot film captures the journey through real time, exploring the groups relationship over the two hours twenty minutes. this scene acts as a break for the actors, the intense verisimilitude that is carried throughout the whole film relaxes.

One of the most prominent techniques in this scene is the absence of diegetic sound. As the group walk into the nightclub where the regular club music is blaring, it is quickly replaced by the Nils Franz soundtrack. The song itself is euphoric and as they are cast in the deep blue lighting, the scene becomes dreamlike. As the intense club music abruptly ends, there is a moment of silence, followed by the major comforting arpeggios.  Its bittersweet, broken chord motifs directly contrast the typical club music. Its subtle and slow, with an earie extended minor chord on violin. The music also has this nostalgic element, the similarity between this piece and the music during the roof scene, suggests a return of that fleeting moment of happiness and sense of community between the group. There is a huge amount of emotion constructed in the scene which the soundtrack helps to emphasize, it allows the actors to fully loose themselves and gives more strength to the sense of relief shared by the characters and actors.

The performance throughout this scene is so free, there is an almost grotesque element to it. The characters are aggressive, jumping over each other, spitting beer, kissing, boxer and Blinker even take of their clothes. There is no modesty, no care for their actions. They are ecstatic with their relief and elation. Through the deep blue lighting there is a large amount of shadow, it restricts the full view of the characters faces and distorts their appearances. However, through the theatrical and striking actions of the group, the emotion is clear, the strobe light enhancing the excitement. Camera movements also emphasise this, throughout the whole film the camera is handheld, reflecting the pace of the scene, this one being no exception. As it weaves its way through the club and around the group, it consistently returns back to Victoria like an elastic band, a reminder that she is at the forefront of the film. She is at her happiest, finally having found a group where she belongs and is welcomed.

This scene not only reflects the highest point of the film for the group but ultimately is the embodiment of what Victoria has wanted since moving to Berlin. Essentially, the film represents the dangers of loneliness and the desire to feel wanted. Victoria is alone in Berlin, having moved there after being kicked out of her music conservatoire. This scene cyclical structure is a key reminder of this. At the opening she is alone and desperate in the same club, the overwhelming mese- en-scene emphasising her freedom but unhappiness. She is so desperate for community that she ends up in the midst of a crime scene, involving herself in a bank robbery. As she returns back to the club, she is a different person. The repetition of the overwhelming strobe lighting enhancing her changed behaviour, in each club visits she appears free and unconstrained, but now she is evidently happy.

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Victoria - Club After The Robbery (1080p)

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The coin toss is a scene in which the Coen brothers flip the ideas of the western trope by expressing the focus this film has on luck. The intense tension is used to place importance on the coin toss and the power that the idea of chance holds. Essentially, Anton’s flipping of the coin reflects the fact that our existence is like a coin toss.

The mise en scene is the first indicator of the possible danger that the shopkeeper could be in and adds to the apprehension. There is a row of nooses hung above his head, framing him as a form of prey. We, as the viewer, know the danger that he is in from Anton’s previous actions. He starts chewing on some sweets which emphasises his comfortable state and the shopkeeper’s fear. When he then places the empty packet down, the tension heightens. The uncomfortable unveiling of the scrunched-up plastic and the unpleasant sound make the viewer feels uneasy and as if he has finished one form of destruction and is onto another. The silence also reminds us of the lack of cars or people around and therefore the isolated situation they are in; this is the perfect scene for Anton to add another murder. The almost static position of the camera while very slowly moving towards the characters reflects the tension the shopkeeper feels, like he's being suffocated by Anton’s presence.

When Anton proposes the coin toss, we are then introduced to the idea of fate versus chance. He decides to boil down this man’s whole life and worth down to a coin toss – without even his permission. This reflects Anton’s situation too. The white cowboy hats in the back of the mise en scene are a haunting reminder of the fate that was expected of this western film. The good guy was meant to win, and the bad guy (Anton) was meant to lose. The larger implications being that old, outdated western ideals were expected to be upheld. However, the coin toss shows how both the shopkeeper and Anton beat the odds as he is the last one standing at the end of the film rather than the ‘good guys’. The Coen brothers are highlighting the fragility of life through the coin toss but also that society does not have to be set in the form of fate, but rather that less traditional views (represented by Anton) are overtaking the old.

However, he is so detached from romanticised ideas of destiny and fate that he cannot grasp the concept of love. When the man mentions his wife Anton visibly chokes like his body rejects the idea. He then says ‘that’s the way it is’ in reference to the shopkeeper marrying into the business. He sees the marriage as transactional and this just paints his character more as a cold-hearted villain. This is a criticism of the new ideals creeping into America and how they are disconnected.

Ultimately, this scene highlights the menacing nature of Anton while also emphasising the duality of luck. This coin toss has saved the man’s life, but the same thing later will be cause for someone’s death. The Coen Brothers portray the fragility and uncertainty of life through this scene by showing that nothing is ever sealed from how the storyline deviates from a typical Western narrative.

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Under the Skin - Driving into the Fog (Bea Sims)

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Under the Skin - Driving into the Fog (Bea Sims)

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Under the Skin was directed by Johnathan Glazer and was released 2013, after taking approximately 10 years to film. While not being too political, throughout the film Glazer drew the audience’s attention to the vocal point of human society, emotion. The lead role of The Female, played by Scarlett Johannsson, is an anonymous alien placed on earth to harvest the bodies of men. From the beginning of the film the Female is forced to stand out, her soft British accent is a high contrast to the strong Scottish accents of the males she lures into her van. The Female also stands out amongst the majority of people she comes across when outside of her van, due to her appearance. She remains in the same outfit for the film, which includes a pink top, tight jeans and a fur coat. The clothes are form fitting and allow the Female to own her sexuality as a weapon against the men; instead of having the men take advantage of her, the Female remains in charge of the situation until the men sink into the black floor of her lair. The fur coat is also used to personify the predatory nature of her role and when the coat is shed, the Female starts to explore more human emotions and it could be suggested that she has begun to gain a conscious.

All through the film Glazer established an isolated atmosphere for the Female and when she leaves the safety of her ‘hunting ground’, the city, her isolation is heightened by wide shots of the Scottish landscape. As she runs from the Bad Man, the camera continues to zoom out from the people and show a larger landscape desolate of human life, highlighting the unforgiving nature of the water or the cold of the mountains in the background. A scene that furthers the detached aesthetic is where the Female is driving along a single stretch of road towards a fog, the isolation is represented in a multitude of ways, including the lack of other human presence as well as the single van on a single road with little to no other discernible locations for human life in the background. The Female is shown walking into the fog, which leaves the viewer with uneasy feeling as she disappears completely from view. Her vulnerability as a character is shown by her lack of her fur coat and her reduced confidence. Similarly, her movements outside of the van have shifted from a confident prowl to a faster, more jittery walk, which allows the audience to start to see the possible development of human emotion in the form of fear and confusion. As well as vulnerability the viewer can also discern a naivety to the deeper emotions that are deep routed in human society, which Glazer wanted to draw the audience’s attention to throughout the film, as it was viewed earlier on in the film, however her understanding of each emotion has not fully developed and fear remains the most heightened due to her impending capture and her attack later on in the woods. The Females’ understanding of emotion continues to grow and as this happens the audience gain a larger feeling of sympathy for the Female. It could be argued that Glazer used the Females confusion and fear during the fog scene to manipulate the viewers emotions from there on out, as a way of exposing the basis of humans as a society and how it can be controlled in a way that makes everyone vulnerable and more easily targeted.

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Nfom end scene, Spectatorship and meaning - Ambrina chohan

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Nfom end scene, Spectatorship and meaning - Ambrina chohan

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Within the film, the Cohen brothers use a number of cinematic techniques and icons along with spectatorship to help convey their pessimistic message of lawfulness and the older generation in America, through one of the ending scenes of the film.

Within the ending scene of No Country For Old Men, the Chohen brother’s message of fate and inevitable doom is addressed and displayed. The scene starts with a wide far shot of Chigur about to continue with the next step in journey, however, the shot type creates a distance between the audience and chigur. This subtly suggest that his journey is ending as the camera Is starting to detach the audience from this character. Additionally, the choice of a wide shot is contrast to the previous close up shots we have been seeing of Chigur, the change is abrupt and indicative of a change of mood surrounding this character. It can be alternatively argued that the distance created by a wide shot was purposed to illustrate Chigurs hostile nature. The shot is subsequent to a murder he executed, and this may be the Cohen brother’s way of suggesting the caution and distance required for character, painting a more hostile picture rather than from suggesting his end.

The colour grading and lighting within the scene helps convey a similar message of inevitable doom and end to the old characters of the film. Initially, a yellow hue and warm bright lighting from a sunset can be detected within the scene. The warm colours suggest optimism and comfort surrounding the suburban setting. On closer inspection however, the grading is heavy, flooding the shadows and the highlights of the scene. This creates a vintage hazy aesthetic around the scene where shots resemble the appearance of an old memory. This may be indicative of that Chigurh is similarly ageing into an old memory, soon to fit into a tale where there is a lesson to be learnt. The fact that there is a sunset when Chigurh goes into this sequence further illustrates this end soon to be as the sun goes down. Spectatorship plays an interesting part within this scene. An older generation may feel the vintage mood, relating with their own vision of a suburban setting from their own past and so understand that Chigurh’s character is aged. However, a younger audience my detect compassion within the warm tones of the scene, later within the scene Chigurh talks to innocent children calmly, without violence and doesn’t kill them like most characters he’s interacted with. A young audience who’s going through a phase of growth within their mental state may hence have a more positive outlook of similar growth with Chigurh’s character.

The Cohen brother’s attempt at illustrating their pessimistic view of fate is significantly portrayed within this scene. As Chigurh drives, the camera is still, conveying calmness and an antiinvasive manner about the character. Subsequent to this, there is a shot of a green traffic light, a lawful mood is created where the traffic light is government property, representing the law. With a green light, it’s almost as if the icon of the law is telling Chigurh that he is good. In this light, overall a lawful picture is painting. Abruptly, in contrast from this, Chigurh gets into an accident. The accident is shown with a smash cut with a sudden increase in loud volume and shown from an angle mimicking a third-party pedestrian’s view. The smash cut and increased volume makes the event shocking and abrupt. The pedestrian pov shot further illustrates how unexpected it was as the peace of pedestrian activity often juxtaposes against violence and calamity. The abrupt accident suggests that whilst Chigurh was being lawful, justice and fairness may not always follow. Even in what might seem as the lawful setting of the suburbs. The abrupt nature of accident, creates a sense of shock, mirroring the response of older generations with ideals juxtaposing the film maker’s own message.  In this way the Cohen brothers can illustrate their pessimistic view on the topic of deteriorating lawfulness in America as the country grows, effective through its dramatic manner.

To conclude, the Cohen Brother’s use a variety of cinematic tools such as colour grading in mise-en-scene and lighting and various shots in cinematography to strongly convey their messages of a dying place in America for old characters and justice through impactful trauma and connotations.

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No Country For Old Men Chigurh's Accident Scene Full HD

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This scene sums up a lot of the previous themes that come up in the film, such as, voyeurism, power and objectification of women, which seems to be influenced by the auteur’s signature.

Kim Novak’s performance is very effective in the film as she is able to play both roles of women who represent the binary opposite of each other; Madeline is presented as the unattainable ideal woman who seems to always be surrounded with a certain glow and is based on the construction of a woman who’s not real which is presented in this scene as she appears as a ghost. Whereas Judy represents realism as her characters’ reveal at the end helps reveal the truth to Scotty and the viewer as well. Initially Judy fights Scotty’s attempts to mold her into Madeline’s image but consciously starts to surrender as she is desperate for Scotty’s love and so, Judy surrenders to the male gaze as Scotty literally constructs her into the ideal objectified woman who fits a man’s lustful desires. The theme of unequal power between the genders is presented in this scene when we compare her character to Midge who is shown to also want Scotty’s love and, in a desperate attempt she tries to take control of the male gaze by painting her face onto Carlotta’s body therefore challenging the patriarchy. However, this provides the opposite reaction from Scotty as perhaps he felt like he lost the power to achieve this himself and so rejected it and went on to continue living an illusion with Judy by transforming her into Madeline.

This scene is very important as it is the moment Judy decides to surrender to this illusion of the past and allows herself to be a part of Scotty’s necrophilic fantasy. Hitchcock presents this in a very morbid manner through the use of the mise-en-scene, the overexposed green light from the hotel sign illuminates onto Judy as she comes out of the toilet completely transformed and creates a fog around her which presents the uncanny, in addition to her costume choice of a grey suit she is literally presented as a ghost coming back to life. There’s a sense of necrophilia created here as Scotty has dressed and made Judy act in the same manner as Madeline, this is further intensified as the score is raised which intensifies the reality of Scotty being able to achieve this.

In a way Scotty’s obsession is mirrored from Hitchcock’s auteur signature and frequent casting of blonde women in his films and so Hitchcock achieves his fantasy through Scotty’s obsession to transform Judy into Madeline. Which can vaguely reflect Hitchcocks power over his actors in the classical Hollywood period, especially the women as he saw them as objects of desire.

However for Scotty this is presented as necrophilia as he seems to want a sexual relationship with her even though he knows this is not reality. As Hitchcock uses cinematography in order to change the mise-en-scene around the two characters by rotating the camera and so changing the location, we enter Scotty’s vision of imagining him and Madeline back in the stable but his refusal to accept the unrealistic nature of his acts creates a morbid sense as he is desperate to hold on to the past and, so he goes back to kissing Judy. This creates a theme of fantasy by presenting Scotty to be lost in the world of illusion.

There’s also a narrative structure of predator vs prey in the film in which we see throughout the first half of the film aspects of voyeurism as Scotty follows Madeline, this is done in a predatory manner as he tracks down her every movement. This is presented in the cinematography as the camera tracks down her movement but always from a distance, therefore this allows the viewer to be a part of the action and watch her from Scotty’s point of view.

He then completes his hunt in this scene when he is able to transform Judy into Madeline for his own personal pleasure to bring back the past. However, Judy is seen to be very submissive at the end as she is also driven by her personal agenda of wanting his love and so she is desperately willing to loose herself completely into the power of the man.

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TRAINSPOTTING- The Worst Toilet In Scotland -Emma Watts

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TRAINSPOTTING- The Worst Toilet In Scotland -Emma Watts

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Danny Boyle’s narrative structure for ‘Trainspotting’ resembles the path to quitting drugs with many moments of dark comedy and use of comic release, he successfully highlighted the separation Renton has from his reality. The ideology in the film is anti-drugs, however the story is told in a way that is intended to help the spectator take a realistic view of the addicts life which has good times and bad times.

Boyle enforced his ideology by shocking his spectators, forcing them to watch uncomfortable and disgusting scenes with the intention of clearly presenting how these characters are separated from their reality. A scene I felt this was clearly reflected in, is when Renton goes to the public toilet after taking a suppository. Boyle’s choice of cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound is what disturbs his spectators. The scene is exaggerated, the choice of brown sludge spread on the floor and the broken doors, appear even more shocking when the camera cuts down to Reston’s feet, showing his white shoes, the enhanced reality of this disgusting toilet resembles a cartoon. Emphasising this point, Boyle put a door sign which reads “worst toilet in Scotland”, all of which playing on the dark comedy of the scene.

The scene plays out with the non diegetic sound of a playful classical song, which juxtaposes the repulsive situation. It’s classy connotations remind the audience of polite British tradition, emphasising the obvious contrast between the that and the current scene, overall having a comical effect. Ewan McGregor’s performance successfully immerses  the spectators into Renton’s world, were things that are considered disgusting are part of his everyday experience. His wide blood shot eyes and fragile physicality resemble a stray puppy, with his skinny, weak physical state highlighted through the costume choice of tight jeans. McGregor walks with his legs moving at different paces and hunched shoulders, showing the audience that there is something in his bum, as he uncomfortable hobbles to the nearest toilet. Boyle further disgusts his spectators by forcing them to watch Renton pass his suppository with the camera below him, shocking the audience with this unsettling angel, as we feel amongst the brown sludge on the floor. The uncomfortable close up shots of Reston’s sweaty, pale face, creating a sense of intimacy, with the small cubical having a suffocating feeling.

We then see him desperately fishing the drugs out the toilet which represents the grotesque, degrading and dehumanising effects of heroine addiction. As Renton unexpectedly dives into the toilet, and emerges into a tranquil, ocean-like world, where he joyfully swims around to retrieve the drugs. The surreal blue water, further immerses the audience into this dream-like world, inviting us to explore the effects of drugs in a physical and visual sense. The scene is a metaphor for the addicts way of life, because even though the drug addict encounters vile circumstances, they are willing to endure the worst imaginable filth to get high.

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Trainspotting | 'The Worst Toilet in Scotland' (HD) - Ewan McGregor | MIRAMAX

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Trainspotting - Going for a walk (Corrour Station). Ivy Gavin. 

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Trainspotting - Going for a walk (Corrour Station). Ivy Gavin. 

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The train pulls away from the station revealing the film’s famous promo shot. Sick Boy, Tommy, Spud and Renton are stood looking incredibly out of place amongst the Scottish wilderness. Tommy’s strong, upright stance immediately informs the audience that this uncharacteristic adventure was his idea - he has his hands in his pockets giving him an extremely self assured air, making the others' disapproval all the more uncomfortable to watch. Spud stands out the most, his highlighter yellow football top is aggressively harsh to look at against the grey horizon and his posture is the polar opposite to that of Tommy. He is tense, hunched over, almost as if the change of scene is painful. Renton has his back to the camera, disconnecting him from the rest of the group. At this point in the film the audience would be able to grasp the difference between Renton and his friends, sure they’re all heroin addicts but he is far more intelligent than this group - a notion which is only solidified by his short rant on colonialism and the general ‘shite’ nature of Scotland. The small act of facing a different way from the boys separates him, foreshadowing his eventual escape from the toxic repetitions of a drug user. Sick Boy looks mildly put together in his suit, but the bottle of vodka in his hand completely undermines his professional facade.

The brutal natural image of Scotland’s mountainous countryside references the divide between city life and traditional landscapes. The world has moved into metropolitan hubs, humans are no longer built for these unprotected plains. Boyle is picking at the sheltered life that most people experience as a result of capitalism - even those at the bottom of the food chain, criminals who live on the streets, can no longer cope in these ancient settings. The shot of the four guys looking out onto the mountain provides an incredibly significant commentary on masculinity. For generations, men would go out to hunt or fight over territory on these hills, whilst their wives tend to the home and children. The mountain has a deep rooted connection with the strength of man, the bleak hills themselves connote brawn and power, words that can frequently be found in the gender stereotypes of men. However, these shivering, skinny men do not bring brawn or power to mind. This does not make them any less man, but the comparison between traditional masculinity and modern masculinity (irrespective of the drugs) gives a neat visual story of evolution, with comical undertones in, what is mostly, a depressing film about capitalism's exploitative constitution.

As the scene continues, they venture out into the grass, past a bright red circle with ‘STOP’ written underneath. This unsubtle piece of mise-en-scene giving an indication of what’s to come. Tommy marches off towards the horizon, continuing to keep up his good natured image and, in some ways, demonstrating man has not quite lost his affinity for nature. The others remain on a bridge, one of the few examples of man made structures there, illustrating the innate comfort they receive from anything remotely city-like. Gradually, the three boys position themselves here - Sick Boy taking up his signature, half assed power stance with his body slightly blocking Spud who remains silent for most of the scene; Renton is sitting crouched on the edge, very obviously demonstrating that he would rather be anywhere else.

Up until this moment, the camera has been mostly unobtrusive, staying at a distance and keeping the boys’ full bodies in the shot. This makes the sudden close up on Renton’s face quite shocking, Boyle keeps the ‘great outdoors’ in two thirds of the shot with Renton’s head filling the right hand corner. He takes a swig from his vodka bottle; further highlighting how out of place he is. His earring jumps out in the foreground, with the light hitting it perfectly - continuing to bring the industrial and man-made into nature. It jumps back to the original distance between the camera and boys, cutting between the three and Tommy and creating an us and them theme.

The sudden outburst from Renton almost comes out of nowhere - no real tension has been built, he just seemed widely disinterested in anything Tommy had to say until now. His speech is carefully written, though the delivery would indicate otherwise, and acts as an overt dismissal of all the capitalist propaganda that gets pumped into the western world. For the proletarians of society, life is far from idyllic; there is no support for those struggling and often people were blamed for how dire their lives are. The meritocracy, specifically the English meritocracy, believes that people are born into their social standing, therefore offering no aid to those not fortunate enough to be part of old money families. It’s a deep rooted issue that has been built into the foundations of society and ‘all the fresh air in the world won’t make any fucking difference’.

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Trainspotting - Going for a walk (Corrour Station)

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Although not obvious as a top scene in the wider selection of the course, this is one of the moments that has stuck with me across all the films, partly because of realism, and partly because the performance of Macro Perella as the alcoholic and increasingly unstable Professor Bill.

In terms of narrative, this provides some of the only genuine external conflict in a film otherwise defined by drifting moments of adolescence, and it is the only section in which a character comes close to being an antagonist in a typical narrative sense. The genius of it is that this has occurred slowly—literally over the space of years—with Bill’s secret drinking and punctilious approach to parenting escalating to the point of this dinner table explosion, a meltdown that culminates in the hurling of the glass across the table.

While it’s Mason’s film, this is certainly Bill’s scene—a man trapped by his own anal-retentive mind, fizzing and out-of-sorts and clearly disgusted by himself, while also being relentlessly doomed in his patterns of behaviour. The viewer gets the sense that Bill hates his own clothes, but will never dress any other way; that he hates his haircut, but has no alternative; that he despises the way he behaves with his children, but will continue do so, his drinking providing both an escape and an aggravating catalyst. Perella’s performance here is subtle, his arms dangling and dragging ever so slightly, almost Neanderthalesque, as he hauls his liquor bottle to the table and plants it like a flag; and the way he shifts and settles his torso after flinging the glass at Mason makes him seem ape-like. He may be a professor, and he may live in a middle-class Texas mini-mansion with a garden and a pool, but he’s still at his core extremely primitive, a primate in a polo shirt.

One of the keys to the scene is the fact Linklater doesn’t overdo the camera work. Everything is restrained. His mostly static shots and invisible editing are designed to let the scene play through the performances, rather than getting in the way of them.

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Boyhood (4/10) Movie CLIP - You Think That's Funny? (2014) HD

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No Country for Old Men – Coin Toss Scene (Teddy)

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No Country for Old Men – Coin Toss Scene (Teddy)

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Throughout the film, the Coen Brothers make an attempt to implement a threatening antagonist in the form of Anton Chigurh, acted by Javier Bardem, acting almost as an arbiter of fate through the course of the film. One scene in which this is demonstrated effectively is the coin toss scene, where Anton forces the shop owner into his twisted sense of reality, deciding whether he lives or dies to a simple coin toss. The use of simple but clear cinematography along with the perfect use of sound makes this scene not only exhilarating, but also anxiety inducing for the audience to watch.

To begin with, the Coen Brothers carefully designed the interior of the shop to perfectly convey the feeling of lingering death and dread, and this shows careful consideration was taken when it came to mise-en-scene. Behind the shop owner is a line of cables shaped in the way a noose would be, highlighting how death embodies the environment and showing Anton’s almost judgelike presence, deciding the fate of his victims through a simple coin toss, showing his sadistic sense of superiority over the rest of the cast. Furthermore, when Anton puts the wrapper on the desk, it stretches in a prolonged, unsettling manner, showing how the shop keeper is on borrowed time and has to make the call before Anton decides otherwise. In addition to this, the white hats behind Anton help portray the idea that morality is no longer of importance to Anton, caring only about carrying out his twisted sense of fate. It’s evident the Coen Brothers wanted to have Anton represent fate, as throughout the whole film and this scene, he’s shown to be immune to any sort of harm and judgement, which sports his threatening nature as an antagonist, as his judgement is inevitable and can only be delayed. The fact that he constantly dresses in black clothing further adds to his mysterious nature, as his origins and motives are unknown to the other characters throughout the entire film. This scene helps convey this idea as Anton shows no reason to want to kill the shop keeper, only that he feels he needs to ‘make the call’.

When looking at Javier’s performance, we can clearly see just how menacing Anton truly is, as his constant low, quiet pitch and static facial expressions help show him as a never-changing being, existing only to act as a keeper of fate, only ever being angered when people deny him an answer. Along with this, after he flips the coin, a quiet but eerie track plays, showing clear suspense to what’s going to happen, as previously all Anton has done is kill his way through to his motive. This sense of inevitable doom really adds to Anton’s portrayal not just in this scene, but the entire film, as he is shown to be above the other characters and in his own plane of existence, being impossible to fully comprehend. His clear sense of power over the situation makes it clear that he is the one in control, and that he will stop at nothing to fulfil his twisted goal, showing just how effective he is as an antagonist. Once he finishes with the shop keeper, he almost changes as a character, showing an unnerving smile as he casually jokes with him, perhaps inclining that he get’s pleasure out of making people take an active role in deciding their fate. This scene conveys the excellent characterisation of Anton, and shows just why the film is worth watching, even if just for Anton’s shenanigans throughout the film. 

Overall, all these elements work together to create a sense of Anton’s character in the scene, with him acting almost like a superior being to the shop keeper, being the deliverer of for those who get in his way. The hand-crafted setting along with the ominous characterisation of Anton, in addition to Javier’s acting, help to convey Anton as a representation of fate, showing him as an undefeatable obstacle in the story, with your only chance of surviving to be giving into his game. As a whole, the Coen Brothers designed the scene perfectly, showing Anton’s stance entrenched in a threatening antagonist.