Double Indemnity / LA Confidential Shot Analysis

I think one identifiable theme in both Double Indemnity and LA Confidential is the presence of racial inferiority. The shot that I chose from D.I. shows a visibly worried Sam Garlopis in Keyes' office trying to defend himself in a pretty obvious insurance scam while Walter Neff watches calmly. The second shot that I chose, from LA Confidential, is one of the interrogation of the African American men that Exley is trying to pin for the coffee shop murders.

I noticed a few parallels between the shots, the first one being the stance and position of both the men in power (Keyes in the first and Exley and the onlooking cops in the second). In the DI shot we see Garlopis seated while Keyes towers over him which represents Garlopis' inferiority. I also think it is interesting where Garlopis is sitting in comparison to the desk. Normally a guest in an office will sit directly across from the person they're seeing, but in this case Garlopis is kind of off to the side as if he didn't deserve normal treatment. We see a similar situation in the LAC when we see the suspect seated while Exley stands and Dudley's reflection seems to dominate the shot.

Another comparison I noticed was of the placement of the people in power in the shot. In the DI shot we see Keyes at the desk lecturing Garlopis while Neff protects the door, as if trapping Mr. Garlopis. In the LAC shot we see the suspect being interrogated and then the reflection of the hulking group of detectives. In both of the shots, the person of color is confined and surrounded almost like a caged animal.

I think that there is a general inferiority with people of color in both of these films simply by observing the dialogue but this racial inferiority is also aparent in the shots of the films.

Minority Report Shot Analysis

I was lucky to get a pretty artistic shot for this assignment. I got the shot of John Anderton and Agatha in an embrace. I believe the shot occurs when John is whisking Agatha away from the pre-crime division. This shot is not only aesthetically pleasing but it also has significance in terms of the movie. In this close-up we see Agatha quite literally hanging or looking over John's shoulder. This makes me think of the expression of looking over one's shoulder, or paying close attention to someone's actions. The pre-cogs in fact do just that, they can predict the future and oversee that no murders occur in the D.C area so the connection to the expression makes perfect sense. Another thing that I noticed about the shot is the extremely precise framing. Nearly the exact amount of both John and Agatha's face is exposed by the light. We can also observe this same symmetry in that the amount of black on the outside of the shot is nearly the same to the right and left of Agatha and John. The viewer is also extremely drawn to the eyes in this shot, particularly Agatha's. This relates to the themes of eyes, sight and blindness that were so apparent in both the film and Oedipus.

My Favorite Movie

My favorite movie is Schindler's List. The story is incredibly captivating and is set in a period that I find very interesting. I really liked how the director chose to shoot the film in black and white rather than color even though the technology was available. This choice really added to the mystique of the film as it made the viewer feel like they were truly in the time period of the film. I also think Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson are incredibly talented actors and played their roles perfectly.