Analysis Of The Film 'Two Pills' Scene In The Matrix

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Films are created to tell a story, to tell an effective story a broad range of techniques needs to be used in a successful way (Brown, 2012.) The ‘Two Pills’ scene from the film The Matrix (1999) uses these techniques in a way that creates a strong representation of the characters and storyline. The techniques used include cinematography, the soundtrack and the editing. In addition, mise-en-scéne is used to enhance the narrative through dialogue, costume, setting and lighting to create a highly emotional reaction from the audience. The ‘Two Pills’ scene takes place in an abandoned building, which fits with the rest of the movie, as the ‘world’ is empty and people are not living in the real world (The Matrix, 1999). The dark walls and the unused fireplace create this feeling of desertion; seen as creating a sense of revelation (Dix, 2008). The darkness that is created behind the characters means that the light that they are in, highlights their importance and is done to reinforce this factor throughout the film (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008). This style of the setting is paramount for the genre of film – action sci-fi - and the story that is ‘The Matrix,” it is expected that most scenes would have an eerie, deserted and uncomfortable feel about them (Lacey, 1998). Another aspect of mise-en-scéne is costuming, this can be manipulated by the filmmaker to form a perception of the characters within the viewer (Dix, 2008). Audience’s subconsciously affiliate different stereotypes to people based on how they are dressed (Piatti-Farnell, 2013), which is why costuming is an important element for filmmakers to consider. Morpheus wears a black leather coat, which shows the viewer that he is important; his eyes are unseen as he is we... ... middle of paper ... ... reason for this is to demonstrate to the viewer that Morpheus is wise and knowledgeable, whereas Neo is unsure and reliant on Morpheus’ experiences. The long cuts mean that the viewer’s attention is drawn into the dialogue rather than the action (Pearlman, 2009, p. 250). In summary, the ‘Two Pills’ scene is a successful example of editors and producers creating a cohesive collaboration by using a wide range of techniques. The techniques that are used to create the scene that shows narrative development are cinematography, soundtrack and dialogue and editing, these three elements help to enforce the viewer’s ideas of confusion within the scene and throughout the rest of the film. Mise-en- scene can be divided into four sub-categories – lighting, costuming, dialogue and setting, these help to clarify the character personality and importance within the narrative.

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