Film Analysis Blog Post - Part 3

Chinatown (7/9) Movie CLIP - Capable of Anything (1974) HD

 

In this scene, the characters confront one another as the scene helps build into the film's climax with a confrontation as the clues have been gathered, the critical thinking conducted, and the information deciphered to understand what is at stake along with the truth, and how to ensure justice is served. One of the detectives in this scene confronts a corrupt figure whose controlling the water supply in the city in a corruption scheme of unchecked power. The dialogue in this scene is serious, with both character delivering lines of accusations, confrontation, and rebuttal. The man in the right side of the above thumbnail, the character Noah Cross (John Huston), states "You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything." This shows the cynical attitude of Cross as an evil villain who knows no bounds, the design of the character, compiled with the delivery creates a meaning of power where they are seemingly unchecked, are ruthless, and have the free will to do virtually whatever they want that does not raise too many eyebrows and suspicions to others. The clip is shot in one take, and with no cuts or editing, this raises the stakes where tension is being built between the two characters as their confronting conversation continues, showing that there is no way out of this conversation easily and an audience could feel immersed and trapped, along with being grounded as the conversation plays out as the detective confronts Cross with evidence. The lack of any music keeps the focus squarely on the conversation at hand, adding to the suspense. The lighting and this scene being filmed during the evening hours helps add to the drama where shady deals, meetings, and conversations are taking place between figures who seem morally questionable and teeter on the edge of right and wrong, adding to the idea of power where deals are being done in secret and in discreet places to avoid suspicions of the general public. As the camera zooms out to see a person pointing a firearm to the detective's head, this use of zoom for the cinematography reveals the hidden danger to the detective as they now face the prospect of being killed for revealing too much information, where they are now a liability that needs to be taken out to ensure the corrupt figures retain their power, wealth, and control and to keep their status quo. 

In my project, I had set out to create a mystery like this where the whodunnit subgenre was not my focus, but more of a plausible and grounded mystery an ordinary individual faces and has to solve.