Friday, 30 October 2009

Extreme Measures analysis (Scene 22), Independent Research. (REVISED)



Extreme Measures
Director: Michael Apted
1996
Company: Castle Rock Entertainment
User Comment:

“ ‘Extreme measures’ has a certain place in my top 10 of "the best suspense movies of the 90's". I think this movie has never received all the recognition it deserves. ‘Extreme measures’ delivers excellent acting, fascinating plot, cool action and lots of excitement and most important of all, it gives birth to a rather interesting ethical question.”

User Rating: 5.9/10

‘Extreme Measures’ is a film that many people would not immediately identify as a thriller movie. However, as the plot thickens the film shows an extraordinary amount of features usually related to a generic thriller. In the 22nd scene, we follow Guy (Hugh Grant) into a subway – which is a crucial convention of the thriller genre as it is a confined space – not only that, but it is isolated and dangerous. The lighting in this part of the film is noir, and matches the high emotion in the main characters and the plot.

There are places in the mise-en-scene that show smoke coming from somewhere in the railway, this suggests that it is broken – meaning it is abandoned. The smoke in itself creates tension as it is hard to see past or through the gas, and as it appears at random times throughout the scene, it has the ability to create a lot of suspense. The fact that the subway appears abandoned is a crucial detail, as it creates fear in the audience as they begin to wonder about the kind of people that live down there, and also that there would be nobody around to help if something went wrong.

extreme measures 1

Guy and the ‘mole’ he is following come to a crossroads in the underground. (pictured) This shot is important for many reasons. In the background, where the two tunnels disappear – one of the tunnels – the one that they have gone past – has a bright light which contrasts against the second which is completely dark. Similarly, the lights in the first tunnel are white, compared to the lights in the second tunnel that are red (the colour that connotates evil.) The two tunnels could represent the paths that Guy could take – the first one being if he turned back, and didn’t get involved with the mystery surrounding the plot, and the second being if he carried on in his path. It could represent ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ Also here we see the classic convention of the claustophobic space represented through the use of the underground. Similarly to how Essex Boys uses chairoscuro lighting in a similar style to that of The Third Man, the director here is paying tribute to Carol Reed (The Third Man) and similar directors by using similar ideas. The underground here also has a very confusing layout; a labyrinth - this is another representation of a convention to thriller films as they suggest both confusion and disorientation. T T Man also uses the idea of labyrinths in Vienna and add to the sense of a nightmare in the film.

The camera then pans down to a low mid-shot of Guy as he has to jump over a part of the track. (Pictured) This could represents the obstacles that stand in the way of the plot, or even things that are warning him (and the audience, alike) to turn back and follow the ‘good’ or ‘light’ route. The setting in the background of this photo is very plain, and as it goes further back it seems to become more and more blurred – which could represent the fact our main character could be losing his way or sense of direction. Thus, making this scene more tense as we are following them on the route to ‘the room’ and the audience can see how confusing it is, and how easily Guy could get lost or trapped within one of the various tunnels.

extreme measures 3

The audience follows Guy and ‘the mole’ down a set of stairs, leaving the light behind them and descending into more darkness. This could be another example of metaphor being used in this scene – saying that they are leaving the world of ‘good’ and descending into the dark and murky world that many people do not know about or mix with, or, on an even darker tone – it could be metaphorical for them descending into a hell. As the two characters go further down a set of stairs, the setting becomes darker, with wire fences and unappealing pipes (pictured.) In the photo, we see that ‘the mole’ has gone ahead to show Guy the way, and in doing so has walked behind the fence. This could be a method of showing the audience that ‘the mole’ is trapped in this lifestyle and has no choice, whereas our main character is free to do whatever he likes, however albeit having some hesitation, Guy follows him down representing the fact that he has gone too far now to turn back.

extreme measures 4

The roles within the two characters are then switched – the light now focusing on ‘the mole,’ and the darkness surrounding Guy. (pictured) This could signify the fact that ‘the mole’ knows where he is going and what the main character and the audience will find, and that Guy is completely ‘in the dark’ about the situation. The archway that ‘the mole’ has gone through in the picture could symbolise the change in lifestyles they are about to see – from Guy who is a wealthy doctor to people without a home that have been forced to live underground where they hope nobody will be able to hurt them.

extreme measures 5

The scene finishes with the two men standing together, both in light. This may suggest that Guy knows that they are near the end of their route, and is slightly more clear on what he has to do – however, ‘the mole’ is still the one holding the source of light, showing us that he is clearly in control.

The film is, overall, a lot better than I thought it would be and holds a lot of signifiers that make up the conventional thriller.

2 comments:

  1. How to strengthen & well done for researching this film which certainly utilises key generic signifiers, particularly lighting.

    ....The two tunnels could represent the paths.... You need to make an intertextual reference here to the similarities between the mise-en-scene of the tunnels in the subway to the tunnels in the sewer in "The Third Man"; not only is the convention of the claustrophic space represented in "Extreme Measures" but also the director is paying tribute to film makers like Carol Reed (director of "The Third Man") by using a similar idea. The use of labyrinths is also another convention of the thriller, suggesting confusion and disorientation; the dark streets in Vienna (T T Man) are also labyrinths and add to the sense of Holly Martin's nightmare world closing in on him.

    Dark underground spaces also indicate the moral corruption that lies at the centre of noir thrillers. I noticed in the trailer that chiaroscuro lighting is another feature of this thriller, which you've convinced me I should see.
    Some very proficient analysis, together with enthusiasm evident.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done for revising your analysis. To further strengthen you need to develop the intertextual references to "The Third Man". Specifically the use of tunnels and the lighting.
    In "The Third Man" Carol Reed uses torches to light up the steps, ladders and passages in the sewer, in "Extreme Measures" Michael Apted uses the flames of a torch to achieve a similar effect.
    As you've commented a labyrinth is a nightmare world of blind allies and false hope. The damp lamp lit shadowy streets of war torn Vienna in "The Third Man" also present Holly Martins with a labyrinth as he tries to find Harry Lime. Is the main character in "Extreme Measures" trying to solve a mystery?

    Try to compare and contrast the utilisation of the underground tunnels and the sewer - you could use stills from both films to support your point.

    ReplyDelete