How does the use of sound and cinematography contribute to the suspense
in The Lovely Bones killing scene?
This scene starts off with a close up shot of Susie’s face, clearly
showing panic and fear in her eyes. The camera then moves to the killers
face, framing him as being quite relaxed and calm. It then uses a shot
reverse shot of close ups from each of their faces to show the contrast of
emotion between them. The camera also uses high angle shots looking down on
Susie and low angle shots looking up to the killer, clearly showing the power
and strength difference between them. This gave me clear knowledge of
who is in control from the very start of the scene.
As
the scene continues, dietetic sound is introduced as the killer starts talking to Susie, asking her things such as whether she would ‘like a
refreshment?’ or if she would like to ‘take [her] coat off?’ It soon became
clear to me however, that he is not really giving her a choice with these
questions; he is merely pretending to give her an option, as when she refuses
the drink offered to her and tries to leave, the killer’s voice becomes more
domineering, telling her she must ‘always be polite’ and pointing in her face,
again using a low angle shot of him, adding to his sense of power. The camera continues to use close ups of
both of the characters faces, once again showing the contrast of emotions in
each of them. During this part of the scene, the camera also starts to look
around the room from Susie's point of view, with close ups of certain objects
such as old pictures on the wall, board games and toys. This shows such detail
which almost makes Susie feel comfortable however it made me feel slightly on
edge as I knew of his plans and saw his attention to detail as
frightening. Another scene in a films that gave me the same emotional response was in Taken, when the young girl gets kidnapped from her hotel.
As it is about a young girl being captured, it is also similar conceptually,
perhaps relating the emotions I felt in both films. In one this scene, jus before the girl gets taken there are certain visual similarities to The Lovely Bones. The slow camera movement
creates tension and suspense as the scene is building, as well as the fact that there is no sound at all apart from the characters' voices, which is also similar to The Lovely Bones scene. The mood of the scene then rapidly changes, along with my emotions, causing me to
feel panic as the scene erupts and the camera movement is a lot quicker, as
well as loud, non diegetic sound being introduced as the girl is struggling against the men trying to take her.
Throughout The Lovely Bones scene, camera shots are used effectively to create
suspense. Close ups of objects are prominently used as part of the mise en
scene, such as when the killer opens a drink for Susie, and when he reaches
over for her to grab the bottle opener. These shots are when sound is mostly
used, although sound is only used briefly for the majority of the scene.
When the camera uses these close ups on movements of small, insignificant
objects such as a small toy dog, quick bursts of non-diegetic sound are used.
These build the suspense leading up to the killing of Susie as the sounds are
quite sharp and fast, and the close ups that are used with these sounds mean
the audience cannot see anything else going on in the scene which then caused
me to feel even more tense. These shot types are similar to those used in
a previous film that director Peter Jackson had also made, Heavenly Creatures.
The similarities between storylines make the films relate to one another very
well. The slow camera movement used in both films creates tension well and
shows the clear similarities in the director’s work.
As
the killer slowly removes his coat, he caresses the side of Susie’s face
chuckling to himself as Susie flinches. There is then a quick cut to her face,
which shows the fear and dread she is clearly feeling. Once he has sat down
opposite her he tells her she is ‘very pretty’, to which she quickly thanks
him, through fear. He then nods his head and smiles at her, however she is
looking at the ground, which she does for a large section of the scene. There
is also a dark shadow on one side of his face for some part of the scene,
showing that the dark side he has hidden for so long is now becoming clear. The
camera also continues to shoot close ups of objects around this underground
room, still with the use of sharp, fast non-diegetic sound. The behavior of the killer at this point caused me to feel on edge and tense. It also increased the hatred I felt towards the killer and my emotions towards Susie made me apprehensive and sad for what was happening to her.
Although the two characters are set in a confined environment, they are rarely
shot in the same frame. Slow and quick cuts are used from one character to the
other, which also shows a high contrast between them, as well as what they are
wearing. The mise en scene shows Susie wearing coloured clothing of blue and yellow with a red hat
whereas the killer is wearing dark simple clothing. This made
me feel completely different and caused my emotions when either of
them is in the frame. As the killer becomes more comfortable, the camera movement
is a lot softer around him, which links to his relaxed, confident mood. With
Susie however, as the scene progresses she becomes a lot tenser, panicked and
scared. The camera also helps to show this through the sharper, quicker shots
than the ones used to show the killer. High and low angle shots continue to be
used, showing that the power is constantly left with the killer, such as when the killer is standing over Susie pouring her a drink
Susie’s panic is shown further as a stronger narrative is
introduced when diegetic sound is used as the killer begins to ask
her about the room they are in, which he built for her, telling her how special
it is. She then responds by agreeing with him. “Yes. Yes it is, it’s very
special”. Her voice starts to become louder and a lot faster paced, stammering
as she speaks, clearly showing the panic through the sound of her voice. The
camera still continues to use close up shots on both of their faces. As Susie
becomes more frightened the killer seems to get more relaxed, shown through the
close ups used on his face as he smiles and nods to her stuttered response.
As
the scene slowly builds, more close up cuts are used on the both of their
faces, especially when the killer is talking to her, asking her if she has a boyfriend. Now however, Susie’s eyes are starting to move around the room. The
camera then freezes on her face as she looks into his eyes and states she ‘has
to go’, looking to the ladder leading out of the underground room. This caused
me, the viewer, to feel extremely tense as the camera movement has stopped
and a sudden fast movement is expected, however this does not happen straight
away, which causes more suspense to the audience.
Although the killer has picked up on Susie’s plans, he remains calm,
staring at her, with more diegetic sound used, he says ‘but I don’t
want you to leave’ and slowly shaking his head. It the cuts to another close up
of Susie’s face, showing her pleading to him with her eyes, not saying a word
but looking more frightened than ever.
This
is when the killer states “I’m not gonna hurt you Susie”. This phrase, although
said in a calm, friendly manner, almost immediately put panic into my emotions,
knowing that he most definitely is going to hurt her, however she looks
confused and unsure through a shot of her face.
This
is when the majority of non-diegetic sound is introduced into the scene, as
Susie leaps out of her seat and jumps towards the ladder leading to the exit.
The killer then jumps and tries to catch her. Suddenly, there is a vast amount
of non-diegetic sound playing over the scene. The use of loud strings and
percussion is used to make the audience panic. The camera shots also become a
lot faster paced and still keep the characters separate. As Susie jumps up the
camera lets her run out of the frame and focuses on the killer left in his
seat. The camera then uses a mid-shot to watch the killer chase after her. It
cuts from Susie on the ladder, using a shallow depth of field to put the killer
grabbing her out of focus, to the killer standing at the bottom of the ladder
pulling her down. The cuts become a lot quicker and long shots are used to show
the intense body movements and struggle between the two characters even though
they are still being shot separately. The non-diegetic sound becomes louder and
continues to build up suspense within the audience to whether Susie will escape
or not.
Suddenly it cuts to a wide shot of an isolated field. Using low key
lighting and slowly zooming out to show the vast amount of land. There is also
no sound whatsoever. This shot contrasts what I knew to be happening under this
specific field. It then cuts back to the same struggle happening between the
two characters and the sound and quick cuts are introduced once again.
Susie is then seen to kick the killer and escape from him, running
through the vast, empty, silent field, almost in slow motion, with a backwards
tracking shot quickly moving in front of her. The vast amount of suspense that
had been created by the sound and quick camera movement is gone
and I began to feel calm and relieved, however this all changes
as I realized that Susie did not actually manage to escape form the
underground cabin, only her ghost did.
