Research: The Bourne Identity Essay

 

The Bourne Identity: Action Thriller

The scene begins with the protagonist Jason Bourne arriving at the dock after being rescued at sea. The first thing to note is that this moment when he steps onto land is the first time in his memory of being on dry land.

The scene opens with an establishing shot of the port looking out towards the sea. Boats can be seen in the background and it gives context to Bourne’s new environment. Everyone we are seeing, from Bourne’s perspective is completely foreign and new to him and it is this that builds however mild a suspense. The next shot that is used is a wide shot which includes Bourne in the frame. Him walking slowly towards the camera while everyone around him is going about their business shows his apparent helplessness as to the situation he is in. To put it simply, he is lost. The camera pans towards the street to watch him walk away and he disappears behind a small vehicle that travels in the camera’s eyesight, blocking Bourne from view. This indicates his leaving behind of his old life. The life he does not know. A very wide shot follows after this focused on a train the Bourne is inside of. This signifies a moving-on. He can not do anything about what came before. He is now out to find out what happened before and how to shape his new life.

The camera moves to the interior of the train where a medium close up, that progresses to a close up, of Bourne is shown. He looks at the window where there is a reflection of himself. He is looking within per se weighing himself up, and asking again and again in his mind: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why can I not remember?’ In essence the following period of sequence before the end of the extract show mid shots and wide shots aiming to show his perspective without using a Point of View shot. The other thing that becomes apparent near the end is symbolism in the colour. Blue signifies his unknown past that he is walking away from and Red comes to mean the person he is becoming in his future. The exterior of the train he leaves is blue. There is a wide shot of Bourne looking down a street at blue lighting – looking back the way he came, and there is almost a finality to it. The police officers approaching him (dressed in blue) now gives blue a negative connotation. Blue is dangerous. It is questioning him. Close up shots are used to show his changing facial expressions as the officers question him, which turn to concentration as he the attacks them. The quick fight scene has a combination of close ups and mid shots to provide Bourne’s perspective but also to get the context for his facial expressions, which is him fighting two people.

The pacing of the editing changes from beginning to end. The opening shots are a series of long takes from when he walks onto the port and down the street. The camera mostly follows Bourne so that frequent cutting isn’t necessary so the running of the scene is somewhat smoother. However once the scene reaches the fight sequence the editing changes, and especially once the fight ensues suddenly takes and cuts happen very. Even though the whole fight takes barely five seconds there are several cuts switching between Bourne’s expressions and the fight as a whole. Because Bourne is the main character and the police officers are unimportant the audience only sees Bourne’s face. The officers’ faces are only shown before the fight and that is it. The five seconds of fight time with the multiple shots and cuts shows a competence with continuity. It does not feel disjointed in any way which shows that this was successfully done and in that way, the action sequence feels more real. As this film is considered an action thriller it is expected that quick cuts will be used in the action sequences. It is a typical characteristic. The earlier section of the extract focuses on more of the drama so the long drawn out takes are effective in this scenario despite the film as a whole being an action thriller. Slower moments give balance to the pacing and makes the film more effective.

In terms of sound both diegetic and non-diegetic are used as expected. For diegetic sound there is minimal dialogue until a couple of brief exchanges between Bourne and the officers. The sounds of the port’s activity, like boats moving around. The sound of the train is heard as well both from the inside and the outside which of course is slightly different and it is good to hear the contrast. The dialogue which is both in English and German. The police officers talk to Bourne in German and just waking up starts speaking in English then realises that he needs to switch to German. This moment is realistic for his initial confusion but also shows off his skills as a linguist as well. His fighting skills are on display after this where the sounds of the fight is used. The impacts of his arms on the officers’ bodies is the main attention grabber, but also there is the muffled sound of their bodies hitting the dirt.

For non-diegetic sound the music carries a subtle suspense to it, which is expected due to the genre. As Bourne travels there are string instruments in the score which effectively carry him on to his future per se. It implies a passage of time that links back to the transition from Bourne’s unknown past to his unknown future. The music also gives an eerie feel that gives a bit of foreshadowing that this will not be a smooth ride for Bourne and it simply is the reason why there is a film. There will be more complications. The first, relatively minor one is the officers finding him sleeping in the park. The music does dwindle away before the fight and resumes fast-paced but still very much in the background of the main scene. In this moment the diegetic sound dominates the non-diegetic. There is not enough time in the sequence for the music to gain any momentum but it is still there to add that extra, but not necessarily needed layer to the moment. These elements weave together to form a quick sequence that says a lot. Bourne’s past is lost to him. He is not going to have a smooth ride into his future however. He has to learn quickly to survive in this ‘new world’.

In terms of mise-en-scene. The main setting is a European city. It is set in winter as evidenced by the clothing of Bourne and the people around him and there is the hustle and bustle especially in the train station where he arrives. The setting gives a sort of cold, dark atmosphere. Bourne is alone and does not have a home or place to go back to and the setting reflects that. The empty street at night time towards the end of the extract intensifies this meaning, as now the people are gone and he is even more alone. The only people that do show up are not on his side and also another thing to note is the officers are dressed in blue which links to his past and them fighting him leads to the thought that his past is something to fear.