Thriller Film Analysis – The Bourne Identity

Directed by Doug Liman

By Elliot Metaireau

Camera workBoth print screens here are two examples with the same camera shot but coming across in two different perspectives. They are also from the same clip with a 9 second gap so the director has certainly used camera shots well to have quite a few being played close together.

But with this camera shot, it clearly shows how vulnerable and powerless the actor is as he pathetically lies on the floor with his hands up. If one were to have their hands up then its an indication for saying “I give up”, which adds to the fact that he is getting beaten. Plus the dead body next time makes him look more weak in a way.

On the other hand this camera shot could be described as an extreme high camera shot, as well as this it’s slightly more wider than the other example. The other one comes across as more powerless or realistic because its also a point of view shot so easily determines what's happening. Clearly with this one, Matt Damon isn’t on the floor but continues to fight with the other actor – less vulnerable.

The high camera shot also tells us what exactly is going on in terms of why they are fighting and how serious this matter is. Clearly if Matt Damon is trying to get killed then the situation is a lot more worse than people thought before the fight. With the very exposing bag lying on the flood next to Matt Damon (which is coloured red, to shows us how dangerous or important the bag is), makes the scene more gripping.

SettingVery remotely hidden setting and not the stereotypical city or indoor location, maybe the director wants the killing to be in secrecy or there could be a purpose to it.

In the middle of the woods, very dead environment so not a single person around, this means that Matt Damon can’t or won’t get arrested and has time to talk to the victim about certain thing.

In this scene you can see that Matt Damon has decided to take the low ground part of the wooded area which indicates that he is more vulnerable and perhaps not as strong as his opponent.

Very camouflaged clothing, blends in well with the the greenery/environment, perhaps indicating that he cant be seen or it’s a very quite killing, however the weapon he carry’s is not.

Due to the amount of snow within the environment, and that all the greenery is very dry or dead, its clear to say that this scene was filmed in the mountains or a place with high ground. So really it’s a very “Russian” like setting which is good for hunting normally, again this is what he’s trying to do.

To add to the very slow yet camouflaged scene, its shown that the killing is not meant to be fast pace of quick but indeed slow, hence he carry's a sniper, it requires patience and accuracy, which Is what he has.

Mise – en – Scene

This was an important scene in the movie because it’s where Matt Damon explains everything he knows about himself to the love of his life. If the scene were to be serious enough then the lighting and contrast will be very different to a tension rising scene like a gun fight. Therefore the surroundings of the two characters seem very dark as though no lights are switched on apart from the “romantic” like set of lights hovering above the two characters in the center of the clip - highlights how important it is.

An important thing to mention is that there is a certain object within this scene that has occurred many times before and has appeared again to show a meaning or to show how vital it is to keep. The red bag from earlier is the object, again it stands out very well right in the middle of the shot in between the two only characters, it’s obvious to see that the bag or what’s inside it has some sort of relevance with their conversation.

Also adding to how relevant this scene is with either their relationship or the general plot/story of the film is that not only is their surroundings dark in contrast with the lights turned off, there is also not a single person sitting down or walking in the shot, this allows the audience to have complete focus on the more important thing going on in the middle.