Post by seyfried on Apr 10, 2008 18:29:39 GMT
but in the narrative fabric of the film, I found them wasted. That moment where Sonny looks out at the horizon is very effective, but it needed more of that, for me, more of the brooding ambiguity.
Firstly, I wouldn't really call it "brooding ambiguity"; it's a recurring motif in all of his films: in Collateral it's Max's "cool island getaway"; in the Insider its Pacino's "beach vacation"; in Heat it's a "getaway" once again, etc. His films are filled with half-conscious efforts of its protagonists (and antagonists, really) to "get away" - move away from their jobs, even though they've essentially become inseparable be from them. With the particular scene we're talking about, Mann has gone the extra step by infusing it within a realist narrative structure. Gone are introspective auxiliary sequences regarding its characters; everybody's placed against the foreground, "threatened by dissolution". In the scene you'll notice Mann halts the soundtrack, the camera lingers in a moment that feels particularly long and out of order. In a later sequence - and here is where I think Mann's commentary is great - Sonny pulls off a deal with the boss; he's fooled him, essentially. Mann describes on the commentary that a common syndrome of undercover work is "medalist syndrome - whereas the undercover agents feel an increasingly dangerous sense of euphoria after pulling a deal off. But for Sonny it's also an incredible, (overly) lucid moment of subconscious realization; he boldly asks Isabella to go on the boat ride, and the film introduces itself to a transient, ephemeral interlude where the two characters spend time doing something that they're not supposed to do. The boat ride is key, not just for the daunting music (youtube.com/watch?v=_hfZBfikfy0) but for the sake that you've got two characters incapable of escaping the prevalence of their jobs. As conversations slip in and out of work and romantic intrigue, you get beautiful, skyward shots of the boat increasing speed towards the coast of Cuba, as if technology couldn't take them there faster; everything is done at hyper-speed - no room for "chit-chat" (as the booming, thrusting engine gains sound and speed simultaneously) If you want further textual proof watch the nuanced reaction of Sonny pulling away, him (and her) uttering the need to go back; moreover, the mirror sequence where in almost a Lacanian take (Mirror-stage)...Sonny makes the preprogrammed decision to return to his job. And so on...
I'm well aware of the criticism, and given how much seems so deliberate and, well, the extent of how much of his work has sort of leaded up towards this "type" of film...it really can get you in the right frame of mind. I'd be really interested for you to give it a rewatch and hear your thoughts.
Firstly, I wouldn't really call it "brooding ambiguity"; it's a recurring motif in all of his films: in Collateral it's Max's "cool island getaway"; in the Insider its Pacino's "beach vacation"; in Heat it's a "getaway" once again, etc. His films are filled with half-conscious efforts of its protagonists (and antagonists, really) to "get away" - move away from their jobs, even though they've essentially become inseparable be from them. With the particular scene we're talking about, Mann has gone the extra step by infusing it within a realist narrative structure. Gone are introspective auxiliary sequences regarding its characters; everybody's placed against the foreground, "threatened by dissolution". In the scene you'll notice Mann halts the soundtrack, the camera lingers in a moment that feels particularly long and out of order. In a later sequence - and here is where I think Mann's commentary is great - Sonny pulls off a deal with the boss; he's fooled him, essentially. Mann describes on the commentary that a common syndrome of undercover work is "medalist syndrome - whereas the undercover agents feel an increasingly dangerous sense of euphoria after pulling a deal off. But for Sonny it's also an incredible, (overly) lucid moment of subconscious realization; he boldly asks Isabella to go on the boat ride, and the film introduces itself to a transient, ephemeral interlude where the two characters spend time doing something that they're not supposed to do. The boat ride is key, not just for the daunting music (youtube.com/watch?v=_hfZBfikfy0) but for the sake that you've got two characters incapable of escaping the prevalence of their jobs. As conversations slip in and out of work and romantic intrigue, you get beautiful, skyward shots of the boat increasing speed towards the coast of Cuba, as if technology couldn't take them there faster; everything is done at hyper-speed - no room for "chit-chat" (as the booming, thrusting engine gains sound and speed simultaneously) If you want further textual proof watch the nuanced reaction of Sonny pulling away, him (and her) uttering the need to go back; moreover, the mirror sequence where in almost a Lacanian take (Mirror-stage)...Sonny makes the preprogrammed decision to return to his job. And so on...
I'm well aware of the criticism, and given how much seems so deliberate and, well, the extent of how much of his work has sort of leaded up towards this "type" of film...it really can get you in the right frame of mind. I'd be really interested for you to give it a rewatch and hear your thoughts.