The theme of this extract is an intense and impatient atmosphere between the interrogator, Jack, and the woman he is interrogating. The director used suspense to build up to the climax of the extract. The climax of the extract is when the tension finally broke into physical aggression. This shows Jacks impatience and the tension between him and the woman.
The beginning of the extract shows the woman looking at Jack as he enters the interrogation room. When he enters, he looks towards a camera on the wall. There is a zoom shot up to the camera. This zoom in on the camera shows that Jack is aware he is being watched. There are people watching him interrogate the woman in another room using computers. Jack is impatient because he wants to get information out of the woman as quickly as he can so that the bomb does not go off. Because of his impatience, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get the information out of the woman quickly. He knows that if he does any physical harm to the woman, he will be stopped by the people watching. This shows his impatience. Cross cutting is then used to show the people watching Jack and the woman at the same time that Jack is interrogating her. The people who are watching them are also clearly impatient and tense. They are nervous about if the woman will give up the information quickly, and how Jack is prepared to obtain the information. The cross cutting is useful to show that everyone in this situation is stressed on time, and therefor impatient and tense. A point of view shot is used from the perspective of the woman being interrogated. She looks at the clock. This further adds to show that everyone in the situation is impatient. She knows that time is being wasted by having her in the interrogation room, and that if they do not hurry, the bomb will detonate. She wants to stop the bomb before it detonates because if she does, she gets pardoned from her crime. Her point of view of looking at the clock shows she is anxious about the time. Dialogue is used in the conversation between Jack and the woman he is interrogating. This is the main focus in the extract. The dialogue between them is very tense, as they both show that they are impatient. Jack’s impatience is expressed through his dialogue, as he is yelling and using a sharp tone. As his impatience grows through his dialogue, so does the suspension and tension of the scene. Dim lighting is used throughout the extract. It creates an ominous and serious tone. The lighting isn’t dark to the point where it seems horror-ish, but dark enough to insinuate a serious and tense interaction. Incidental music is also used throughout the extract. The music is suspenseful, as if building up to something. As the tension and suspense builds from the conversation between Jack and the woman, the music builds as well. When the climax of the extract occurs, when Jack strangles the woman, the music is much more thrilling. This adds to the suspense and tension of the extract because the music includes that sense of suspension and build up. Multiple props are used throughout the extract, but the most important ones are the chair and the desk. When Jack has almost completely lost all patience, he flips the desk. This causes even more tension in the scene because he is now close up in the woman’s face. The desk flip and his up closeness greatly increase the tension of the extract. When Jack finally loses all patience and self-control, he pushes the chair that the woman is sitting in up to the wall, and beings to strangle her. This is the climax of the scene that was built up by all of the suspense and tension throughout the extract. While Jack is strangling the woman, a split screen edit occurs. This shows how everyone involved in the situation reacted when all patience was lost. The split screen shows Jack strangling the woman, trying to get information from her, and the people who were watching from the camera rushing to stop him. The split screen makes it so that the viewer gets to see how everyone reacted after the tension broke into aggression.
The theme portrayed by this extract was an intense and impatient atmosphere built up by suspense. Each aspect included played a different part in creating the tension and impatience that was seen throughout the extract. The aspects helped to build up to the climax of the extract, when all of the impatience, suspense, and tension finally broke into anger and aggression.
